The Next Avengers - The Legend(MCU)
by Ninjaboy13779546
Summary: After The Snap, The OG 6 are decimated, except for Bruce. Years later, with a new found hope and with the help of some files Tony made for possible recruits, Peter Parker and James Rogers assemble a force...or more like a group of crazy teens, to help bring everyone back. But can they do it, or is this too hard a mission for them?(Infinity War/Endgame AU)
1. Cast and Characters

**And there came a day unlike any other. When Earth's Mightiest Heroes were killed and new heroes had to rise.**

* * *

**Cody Christian as James "Jamie" Rogers, aka The Captain**

Age: 5(2018)/15(2028)

The son of Captain America and Black Widow, Jamie is literally the younger version of his father.

Selfless, caring, tough, always looking out for the other person.

Even though his parents were killed in The Snap, he still stays strong for him and his twin sister, Nikki.

* * *

**Sierra McCormick as Nicole "Nikki" Rogers, aka The Black Widow**

Age: 5(2018)/15(2028)

Emotional, fiery, lethal. Nikki has all of the qualities to take on the mantle of Black Widow.

Agile as her mother, good with her hands and a gun. If Nikki get mad, she is literally the living embodiment of the word dangerous. But she can also be kind and caring.

Having PTSD from watching a recording of her parents dying and then the Mad Titan, Nikki sometimes has panic attacks. But when the occasion arises, she will rise to be whatever she's needed to be.

Author's Note/Disclaimer: Nikki is an OC Character created by thegraytigress on Ao3, my mentor and a good friend of mine. She did a great job bringing this character to life in her Heart Of The Storm series and I only hope I can do her proud with this character's growth and her story.

* * *

**Tom Holland as Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man**

Age: 16(2018)/ 25(2028)

The young webslinger from Queens, Peter is the only survivor, other than Nebula, that survived the Battle on Titan. Haunted by the sight of Tony dying in front of his eyes.

After The Snap, Peter lives at the Compound with Bruce, Betty, and the Twins.

Even though it hurts to live without Tony or May, Peter is still motivated my Tony telling him to be better. So he keeps on being the better person that he can be. By helping Bruce as an Avenger throughout the years and looking after Tony's Family.

* * *

**Ty Simpkins as Harley Keener, aka Iron Lad**

Age: 21

A smart inventor and close friend of Tony Stark from Tennessee, Harley Keener can make just about any gadget out of almost anything. Just like Tony could.

Harley, unfortunately, lost his mother and his little sister in The Snap and is left with his new one-year-old sister. But now, he's motivated.

* * *

**Saiorse Ronan as Torunn "Tori" Thorsd****ó****ttir**

Age: 5(2018)/15(2028)

Daughter of Thor and Jane Foster(MCU AU), born after the events of The Dark World. After finding out what happened to her parents, she goes into a depressive state that only gets worse throughout the years.

But when the time comes for her to help her friends, her warrior spirit (and love of pizza and her crush) motivates her to step in.

Author's Note/Disclaimer: I know that ORIGINALLY, Torunn's mother is Lady Sif in the comics. But since she and Thor had little to no chemistry and him and Jane did, I just decided to go for it. Plus, with her mother being mortal, it really sets the tone for what I'm gonna do wtih this character. So just know, I don't own this character, just the idea of her being Jane's daughter. I LOVE Natalie Portman.

* * *

**Yvette Monreal as Ava Ayala, aka White Tiger**

Age: 19

The fiery young feline heroine and protector of Brazil. Ava took on the mantle of White Tiger after her father who was killed in The Snap.

Not exactly a people person, Ava is a bit of a introvert but can be nice when the time is right. She does though share a connection with Peter in having seen those she loves die in front of her.

Having seen many people lose their families and loved ones in her life, Ava has dedicated herself to protect and defend the weak, making her the perfect candidate for being one of the Next Avengers.

* * *

**Nadji Jeter as Azari "Z" T'Challa, aka Black Panther**

Age: 6(2018)/16(2028)

The son of T'Challa and Nakia. A natural born warrior like his father, Azari is always up for taking down some baddie who deserves it. He loves freeing people and doing undercover missions to help others.

He is sad about what happened to his parents in The Snap, but he's glad that he still has Okoye and his Aunt Shuri. When his friends come to Wakanda for help, he'll do his best to make his parents proud and bring out the claws.

Author's Note/Disclaimer: Once again, I know Azari is the son of T'Challa and Nakia, but since Storm, nor the X-Men are in the MCU and I loved T'Challa and Nakia's relationship in Black Panther, I went ahead and made him their son. Personally, I like it. 😁 ️

* * *

**Jace Norman as Francis "Frankie" Barton, aka Hawkeye**

Age: 8(2018)/18(2028)

The son of Clint Barton and Bobbi Morse. As lethal as his parents, Frankie can work with a bow and arrow just like his father and disable opponents like his mother.

Born in 2010, he came into the picture in 2013 after Morse showed up at the Farmhouse and left him with Clint, thinking he'd be better off and out of danger. As he grew, Clint taught Frankie self defense, how to be a great spy, and of course, how to use a bow and arrow.

So now, when he's needed to help the new team with this mission, he will have to take on the mantle of his father and truly become Hawkeye.

* * *

**Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, aka Hawkette**

Age: 8(2018)/18(2028)

Frankie's best friend from their childhood when he first arrived at the Barton Farmhouse. Like him, Clint showed Kate techniques and skills to use in self defense and too protect others. And like her teacher, she's good with a bow and arrow too.

Having lost her own parents in The Snap and caring an awful lot about the Bartons, Kate has the motivation to help bring back all those lost in The Snap.

* * *

**Sofia Wylie as Riri Williams, aka IronHeart**

Age: 17

Riri is a very intelligent girl and a student of MIT. Using some stolen parts from campus, she designs a suit after the hero who inspired her and took on the name IronHeart.

After losing her father in The Snap, she lives with her mother and aunt in Massachusetts. She's young and inexperienced, but desperately yearns to help others.

So when Peter shows up asking for her help, she really wants to, but she's held back by her own troubles.

* * *

**Emma Fuhrmann as Cassie Lang, aka Ant-Girl**

Age: 18

The daughter of Scott Lang and his amazing successor, Cassie has grown into quite the young woman. Taking care of her little brother has truly given her the view on life that Scott has had since she was born: take care of those close to you.

But when Scott shows up out of nowhere after previously thought to be dead with a plan to reverse the effects of The Snap, Cassie will let nothing stop her from helping.

Thanks to suits that were made as presents for her and PJ until that reached the right age, they've become the next generation of Ant-Man and The Wasp...make that Ant-Girl and The Waspling.

* * *

**Jacob Tremblay as Henry "PJ" Pym Jr., aka Waspling**

Age: 10

Son of Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne, PJ was born in 2018 after the Chase for the Mobile Laboratory in San Francisco, but before The Snap.

Growing up and being raised by Cassie, PJ learned that unfortunately, people might be lost, even people close to you. But that you should always care for others. Even if you're going through something, help other people.

He's just as funny as his father and feisty as his mother. His favorite color is yellow and he loves being able to shrink and play with ants.

Author's Note: In the comics, "Pym" is the son of Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. Obviously, the MCU took a different direction, so I'm just following the footsteps. So I don't own this character, just the happy thought of him being Scott and Hope's son.

* * *

**Brandon Soo Hoo as Amadeus "Mad" Cho, aka Kid-Hulk**

Age: 18

The new green fighting machine with the brains! Amadeus, Or Mad for short, is a very intelligent young man and is a big fan of Tue Avengers. He also has a pet coyote named Kerberos, or Kirby for short.

After an accident that made him the next Hulk, he did his best to help people since he had a good hold on it. Now that he's needed to help bring the Original Avengers back, he's all for it.

* * *

**Yara Shahidi as V.I.V.I.A.N. "Viv" Vision**

Age: 2

Viv is a synthezoid created by Bruce and Shuri. Made from an AI Tony Stark made named: V.I.V.I.A.N. V.I.V.I.A.N. stands for Very Intelligent Viral Interaction Assistant/Nerd.

She can control her density, has super strength, and can fly as well. She also has the ability to change her appearance from a synthezoid to a human teenager.

Bruce is like a surrogate father to her. She helps him with his experiments and is happy to have a purpose. She is also curious about the true meaning of attraction and has a certain liking for Mad.

* * *

**Jake T. Austin as Sam Alexander, aka Nova**

Age:12(2018)/22(2028)

A young "space cop" with the power that is his namesake. Sam is an old student of Rocket who the Guardians trained some time after the Battle On Ego's Planet. Since then, Sam has tried to help rebuild Xandar from the ground up with the remaining survivors. He is also the best and the youngest officer in The Nova Corps.

He has a bit of a problem when it comes to leadership issues, but that slowly goes away as they get to know each other. But deep down, he has deep respect for both Peter and James. As well as their parents/mentors, and what they stand for.

* * *

**Sophia Taylor Ali as Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel**

Age: 18

Kamala is a geek and Captain Marvel's BIGGEST fan. Literally! She's a bit of a nerd and loves rom-coms.

After her family died in The Snap, Kamala moved in with her friend and her family. She's always been a people person and loves making new friends. So that makes her all the more happy when Peter and James ask her to help.


	2. Ashes

**Ok, first chapter. Here we go. For those of you that were really hurt by the ending in Infinity War, prepare to cry some...**

* * *

*****Forest, Wakanda*****

"What did you do?...WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Thor backed away, shocked and speechless at the disaster that just happened.

On the left hand of his adversary was a gauntlet that held the Infinity Stones. Relics that had the power to wipe out the entire universe with just a snap of the fingers.

The Mad Titan, Thanos had just snapped his fingers.

Using the Asgardian's stunned state as a distraction, he opened a portal and disappeared into it.

Thor stood there. Alone, defeated, and feeling as if something bad was coming.

As he did, his friend and fellow Avenger, Steve ran up to him, holding his side. "Where'd he go?" He asked. He also looked around, thinking Thanos was trying to get the drop on them. But he didn't see him. "Thor! Where'd he go?"

But before he could answer... "Steve?"

The First Avenger looked and saw his friend, Bucky walking towards them. But something was wrong.

Bucky's hand was disappearing! Turning to dust! Soon, Bucky fell to the ground. But as he did, his entire body disintegrated. And all that was left was a pile of dust.

Steve walked over to it, knelt down and felt it. What was this?!

* * *

*****In Another Part Of The Forest*****

Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon was getting up when he felt light headed. Suddenly, his body disintegrated into dust and he disappeared.

A few feet away, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, aka War Machine called out, "Sam! Sam, where're you at?!"

As he continued his search, he noticed a small pile of ash on the ground. Nothing thinking much of it, he kept on looking for his friend.

* * *

A few trees away, General Okoye began picking herself up.

"Up, General!" Her king and friend, T'Challa exclaimed as he held out his had to help her. "Up! This is no place to die."

She scoffed and took his hand. But as he began to pull her up, his arm disintegrated as did his whole body.

Okoye's eye went wide. Her king just disintegrated into thin air!

"Kumkani?!" She gasped in her language.

What was going on?

* * *

Groot was leaning against a log, tired, and feeling weak.

"I Am Groot." He sighed.

Rocket walked up to him. Worry written on his face. And it only increased as he watched his treelike friend started to disintegrate.

"No. No, no! Groot! No..."

But it was too late. Groot was gone. Tears started to form in Rocket's eyes.

* * *

Not too far away, Wanda sat on the ground, holding Vision's dead form.

Suddenly, her body began to disintegrate. Soon, there was nothing but ash next to the body of Vision.

* * *

*****Wakanda Battlefield*****

All around her, people were turninginto dust and blowing away in the wind.

Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow was shocked now, short of breath.

'I have to find Steve!' She said to herself as she ran for the forest.

* * *

When Natasha finally found Steve, he was on the ground next to Vision's body.

The sight was so gruesome, she covered her mouth and held her stomach.

"What the hell is this?" Bruce Banner, in the Hulkbuster Mk. 2 armor, asked.

He received no answer. But Steve did feel something. Nat felt it too.

"Oh god!" He said.

Suddenly, he and Nat felt lightheaded. It was happening to them too.

"Steve?" She said, looking at him with worry.

He stood and held her in a strong embrace which she returned. Then, the same thought came to their mind. The twins!

They both looked to Bruce, their faces a mix of worry, but also determination. But before they said anything, Nat began to dust and was soon gone.

Steve looked at the spot where his wife once stood that was now replaced by ashes. Kneeling down once again and feeling it, Steve felt the effects coming over him now.

Looking up to Bruce, he breathed heavily.

"Bruce," He tried, his breath slowly leaving him, "The twins...You...you have to get to them."

"But Steve, I-" He started, But was cut off by the sight of Steve disintegrating into thin air.

His eyes widened and he looked to Thor. "Thor, wha-"

But Thor was looking at his hand as it began to dust. As a warrior, an Avenger, Thor dropped to his knees and accepted his fate by looking at Bruce and saying his final words, "Take care of her, Bruce."

"Thor!"

And as those words left his mouth, Thor immediately dusted and blow away in the wind and his axe, Stormbreaker, fell to the ground.

At that moment, Bruce felt like his stomach was gone. But he wasn't dusting like the others. Why not him too? Why the others? They had kids! Wait, the kids!

The Hulkbuster's helmet came back up and Bruce was about to fly towards the base when, "Bruce!" A voice called out behind him.

Looking behind him, he saw Okoye standing there with wide eyes and her chest heaving. "What is going on?" She screamed.

"I don't know," Bruce replied honestly, "But we gotta get back to the base and find the kids."

Okoye's eyes widened even more as a frightening thought fame to her. 'The prince!'

She ran to Bruce and jumped onto the suit on the side where the arm had torn off and held on.

"GO!" She exclaimed.

Bruce didn't waste any time as the boosters on the feet of the Hulkbuster came on and they flew out of the forest.

* * *

**So...how're you guys doing after that first bit? The 'Next Avengers' story was something I wanted to bring to the MCU for a LONG time. And Infinity War and Endgame provided the perfect opportunity. So I hope you guys enjoy this! See ya next chapter!**


	3. Last Spider Standing

**Chapter 2, here we go. And I'm serious here, you may wanna be prepared to cry on this one. Read at the risk of your own tears.**

* * *

*****Titan*****

Thunder filled the air as the heroes picked each other get back together.

Peter Parker gave Tony Stark a hand and helped him up to his feet. Around them, Peter Quill helped Mantis and Drax stood behind them tired, but still strong.

And a few feet away from both groups, Dr. Strange sat on a rock, catching his breath and tired as well.

Suddenly, a funny feeling filled the air. Mantis was the first to notice.

"Something is happening." She said, her voice full of worry. Then out of nowhere, she slowly disintegrated into dust and blew away.

Everyone's eyes went wide, looking at where she once stood. Drax's breathing began to speed up. Then suddenly, he began to disintegrate as well!

"Quill?!" He gasped before her was gone as well.

Shocked at this sight, Quill looked back to Tony.

"Steady, Quill." He instructed.

But Quill felt it happening to him too. "Aw man!" He sighed whisperingly. And within seconds, he was gone.

"Tony." The billionaire heard Strange call behind him. He turned to look at him with a horrified expression. "There was no other way."

After he said that, he let out a breath and disintegrated.

"Mr. Stark?!" Peter called behind him.

A cold chill hit Tony's spine when he heard him.

'Oh no. Please, no!' He said to himself as he turned to the kid. But he didn't expect to see Peter pointing at him.

Tony looked down to his hands and saw that one of them was beginning to dust. He looked back to Peter and saw the horror in his eyes.

Wasting no time, he walked up to Peter and hugged him.

"Please Mr. Stark." He cried as he held Tony tightly, "Please! I don't want you to go. Please don't go, please don't go!"

Tony, accepting his fate, just hugged Peter tightly. "It's alright, Pete... You're an Avenger now."

As those words were said, Tony dropped down to his knees before he finally disintegrated himself. Peter looked at the ash that was there and then looked at his own hands, wondering why he wasn't dusting himself.

"He did it." Nebula said in a surrendering tone. Peter looked back to her. Questions began to race through his mind as she said that.

'Why isn't it happening to me? Why'd it have to happen to Mr. Stark? Why did HE have to die?! What was Ms. Potts gonna say?!'

As Peter sat there with those thoughts, his tears came out without remorse. His cries filling the air. He formed his hands into fists and pounded the ground in anger. He'd lost.

Not just to Thanos, or the allies that he'd gained, but also the man who'd become like a father to him.

He sat there and let the wave of emotions roll over him with no choice but to accept the fact that he'd lost Tony.

* * *

**Well...I'm just gonna leave this here. This was too much even for me. LMK what you guys thought and I'll see you next chapter...This was a lot.**


	4. Gone With The Wind

**Ok, next chapter here. Gonna warn you, this one is definitely more of a tearjerker than the last chapter. You've been warned. Enjoy!**

* * *

*****Wakanda*****

The Hulkbuster with Bruce inside and Okoye hanging on flew through the air.

As they flew further from the forest, another boggy shot up out of the forest and gained on them.

"Bruce!" It was Rhodey!

Bruce and Okoye looked to their right and saw their friend fly up alongside.

"Rhodey!"

"What the hell's going on?!" The War Machine asked.

Bruce let out a sigh of frustration and uncertainty. "I don't know. But we gotta find the kids."

Right away, Rhodey's HUD(Heads-Up-Display) immediately began doing a search as they neared the Mountain. It took a little bit of time, but he found something. "Ok, I've got a few signatures clumped together. It's the twins, Shuri and some more."

Okoye's breath hitches and her eyes went wide. "The princess! Is the Queen there as well?"

Rhodey's HUD didn't show any signs of her. "I got nothing."

"Oh Bast, no!" The General pleaded.

"Hey, calm down!" Bruce interjected. "We don't know what's happening or what's happened to who. Let's just find the twins, regroup and see who's still with us. We got this."

They made it to the base and touched down. Bruce opened up the armor and jumped out. Okoye held her spear firmly and Rhodey's helmet went down and they all headed into the base.

* * *

*****Shuri's Lab*****

Shuri, the Twins hid in her lab. And with them was another child. His name: Azari T'Challa. Son of T'Challa, and Shuri's nephew.

Shuri had on her Vibranium Gauntlets that were ready to fire at any threat.

As they hid, her Kimoyo Beads beeped and projection came up of Okoye entering the lab.

Still cautious, she wanted to check before the kids moved. "Stay here. Wait for my OK. Okay?"

The three kids nodded. She slowly began to step out, her heart racing faster with every step.

"Shuri!" she heard Okoye call out.

A wave of relief came over her as she walked out, looked up to the next level and saw, not only Okoye, but also Bruce and Rhodey in his War Machine Armor.

Okoye jumped down to the floor and hugged the princess, to which she hugged back.

Rhodey came down with a clank and his helmet went down as well while Bruce came down the ramp and stopped at his side.

"Where's Jamie and Nikki?!" He asked frantically.

Okoye and Shuri broke their hug and the princess turned at the Doctor before looking back to the place the children were hiding. "Kids, come on out!"

A curtain was pulled back and out poked the head of Little Jamie. Then Nikki and Azari came out as well.

"Uncle Bruce!" Jamie and Nikki ran towards their "uncle" and jumped into his arms.

"Guys!" Bruce exclaimed holding squeezing them tight. "Oh I'm so glad you two are OK!"

Rhodey watched and lightly smiled at the sight of the kids safe.

Okoye, meanwhile, sighed in relief once again as Azari ran to her and jumped into her arms.

"Okoye!" He cried hugging back. Azari saw Okoye as another Aunt and loved her as family.

"Oh my young prince!" She sobbed. "It's alright! It's alright now."

Even though they hadn't won, Okoye was just happy that nothing had happened to Azari.

"I knew you'd win!" Azari stated with excitement.

Shuri smiled at that before a horrifying thought came to her mind. "Wait a minute!" She gasped. All eyes were on her, curious as to what she was thinking.

Her eyes were wide and the look of someone who'd just seen a ghost in her face.

"Yintoni engalunganga?" Okoye asked her.

Shuri's breathing sped up as she looked at her. "Mother!" She whispered.

* * *

*****Queen's Quarters*****

Shuri busted through the doors with her Vibranium Gauntlets and immediately looked around. Rhodey and Okoye soon came after, weapons at the ready. And Bruce cautiously came in with his fists up. He wasn't sure what he was gonna do, but still wasn't gonna hide.

As they looked around, they noticed there was no sign of a struggle. But there were two Sonic Spears on the ground. Though the soldiers they belonged to weren't in the room.

All that was left was ashes on the floor.

"Shuri." Bruce called as he knelt down.

She turned around and looked to see the Smart Avenger kneeling down at the ash. He looked back up to her with a look of sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Shuri's heart began to race as she knelt down too and felt the ashes in her hand and began to cry profusely. "Nooo! Nooo, Mama!"

Okoye clenched her teeth and planted her spear into the ground. This was a terrible day for Wakanda.

"Auntie Shuri?"

They all looked towards the doorway and saw Jamie, Nikki and Azari standing near the edge.

"What's wrong?" The young prince asked, coming closer to the group.

"Um, nothing." Shuri replied quickly, wiping her tears. "I just stubbed my toe. I'll be ok though."

"Oh, I hope it feels better."

Shuri nodded and hugged her nephew. "Thank you, little Z."

Azari smiles at her nickname for him as he hugged her back.

When they broke the hug, Azari looked around and didn't see his grandmother anywhere. "Where's grandma? And Baba too?" He asked asked.

"Yeah! And where's Mommy and Daddy?" Nikki also asked curiously.

At that moment, the heavy feeling returned to the hearts of the adults. They all looked at each other with faces of uncertainty. What were they gonna tell them? HOW were they gonna tell them?

"Uh, well ya see," Bruce tried. This wasn't easy for him. It's not easy for anyone to tell kids that their parents have died. "Your parents, they um..."

"They found the bad guy and went on a long trip...they're uh...they're gonna be gone for a while." Rhodey interjected.

Bruce, Okoye, and Shuri looked at him confusingly. And he just kept his solemn face.

"Well, I'm sure they'll find him and take him out!" Jamie said confidently. "Mommy too!"

Nikki agreed with that, flexing a fist. "Yeah!"

"As will my father!" Azari added.

The grown ups and Shuri couldn't help but smile at this. These kids truly were their parents' children. For James, he was optimistic, brave, and always staying positive. Nikki was tough and showed no fear like her mother. And Azari has faith and had absolutely no doubt in the Black Panther, father.

So young, yet so brave they were. And yet, they still didn't know the horrid truth that their parents were dead.

It was gonna be hard to break it to the kids, but what Rhodey said wasn't really a lie. Their parents had found the bad guy, and they did go after him. Only they died trying to stop him. So the part about them being 'gone for a while' was gonna be hard to explain.

* * *

*****Landing Pad*****

Bruce and Rhodey were prepped to go back New Avengers Facility and were saying their goodbyes.

"I'm sorry about everything." Rhodey said.

"As are we," Okoye replied empathetically.

"What will you do?" Shuri asked.

"Well," Rhodey began, "We gotta get a better understanding of what's going on. So...we're gonna head back to the Compound, and get more intel. We'll let you know when we have something. I uh, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

The two Wakandans nodded in understanding.

"We'll be expecting it." Shuri stated.

This whole situation involved all of them. They'd all lost people in this fight. Teammates, friends, family. This wasn't gonna go unsettled.

Some of the Dora Milaje came towards them and stopped a few feet away. Two of them together were carrying something large that was covered by a sheet.

Okoye walked over and they handed her the covered object. She then nodded at them and walked back to the ramp of the Quinjet. "Our soldiers found this in the forest."

She handed it to the two Avengers and they took it with confused expressions. Bruce decided to check see what it was. Removing the sheet partially, he saw that it was Stormbreaker! Thor's axe that he fought with when he arrived.

Bruce remembered Thor setting it down in the forest as he accepted his fate. It brought a tear to his eye as he looked back to their Wakandan allies.

"Thank you." the smart Avenger said hoarsely. Other than that, he didn't know what else he could say.

Okoye let out a long sigh as well. "Find out what happened, and stop it. And if there is a way, reverse it."

Bruce and Rhodey looked at each other and nodded before looking back to Shuri and Okoye.

"And take care of those kids," she finished.

"You know we will," Rhodey replied confidently.

And with that, the two Avengers walked onto the Quinjet and ramp came up and closed. The engines turned on and the aircraft began to lift off the ground.

Inside, Rhodey was at the wheel and lifted them higher and soon, they were flying away. Bruce on the other hand was in the back, setting Thor's axe against the wall.

As he headed back towards the front, he passed the Twins who were strapped into their seats and holding hands. That brought a little comfort to him, seeing that. He just hoped it would stay that way.

But the way things were going, it didn't seem like that was gonna happen. It was a nerve wracking thought. Half of life gone. That's a lot of lives that people have made together gone as well. Like couples!

This made Bruce think of Pepper. Oh boy, she wasn't gonna be happy about this. He also thought of everyone who might've lost their significant other. As he did, his mind strayed into memories of the time when he had a significant other. Wait a minute...

'Oh no,' he thought to himself.

"...Betty!"

* * *

**Anyone else crying yet? I know I am. Our first introduction to Jamie, Nikki and Azari in the MCU. What do you think? This was so emotional to write, you have no idea the tears I'm having for this rn...anyway, I'll see you guys next chapter.**


	5. Broken Bow

*****Barton Farmhouse*****

"Ok, hold on. Don't shoot."

Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye walked behind three kids. His daughter, Lila. His long lost son, Francis Barton. Although, he preferred Frankie. And Lila's best friend, Kate Bishop.

They all had bow and arrows in their hands, already drawn. Aimed at a target on a tree about thirty-five feet from them.

"Ok, see your target?" He asked them all. They nodded. "Alright, now we're gonna focus on how you're gonna get there."

He continued walking around them and helped them adjust their footing, pulled their shoulders back.

"Alright, sure you can see?"

They all nodded. He came around to Lila and asked her. She replied "Yeah" since she could see it perfectly until a bit of her hair was held in front of her eye.

"How bout now?" He joked. Lila laughed and shook her head. Clint kept the hair over her eye and put one hand over one of Frankie's eyes. "Bout you, Frankie?"

"Very funny, Dad!" The young blond laughed.

Then he jumped behind Kate and covered both her eyes. "Kate?"

Kate just laughed and put her hands down, separating the arrow from the bow. "Just halfway blind, Mr. Barton."

"OK, I'm just making sure you guys are able to see where you're shooting."

As they laughed, Clint's wife, Laura, called out to them, "Hey, you guys want Mayo, mustard, or both?"

The four of them had confused looks on their faces.

"Who puts Mayo on a hot dog?" Lila asked in a whisper.

"Sounds kinda gross," Frankie furthered.

"Eh, it's probably your brothers," Clint mumbled before responding to his wife, "Uh, four mustards please! Thanks, Mama!"

He turned back to the three and told them to ready their arrows. Their bows came up, their backs straight, and bows pulled back.

Clint looked at all of their stances and then to the target and back to them before he said "Now!"

The arrows were let go and all three of them hit the target on the dot! A proud laugh came from Clint as he high-fived the kids.

"Nice job, Hawkeye!" He said to Lila. "You too, Hawkeye Jr."

Frankie let out a groan when his dad said that. "Aw man! Why does she get to be Hawkeye and I'm Hawkeye Jr.?"

"Ever hear of giving a lady a compliment, Frankie?" Kate asked in a fancy tone.

"Oh brother."

Lila laughed and shook her head at the two. They were always like this ever since Frankie came. But it was obvious they were best friends.

"Alright you two," Clint intervened. "And besides Frankie, you're Jr. to me, not her. Plus, you're just like me, just younger." Frankie thought about it and bobbed his head in contentment. "And Kate, you're...uh..."

"Hawkette!" Kate stated cheerfully.

Clint let that name roll around in his head. 'Hawkette. Hmm, has a nice ring to it.'

"Alright, Hawkette!" He said holding up a hand which she high-fived immediately.

Laura called out to them that lunch was ready. So Clint replied, "Alright, we're comin'! We're hungry! Go 'head and get yer arrows, kids."

So all three kids went to go get their arrows. Lila grabbed hers first and then walked over to Clint. Meanwhile, Frankie and Kate picked on each other.

"You owe me a new arrow, Kate," The blond boy joked.

"Don't bet on it, Francis!" She retorted with a smirk.

They laughed as they both reached up and pulled their arrows out of the target.

"Alrighty, Dad!" Frankie started, "We're ready."

The two turned around to find that Clint wasn't there. Just a small bit of ash where the Archer once stood.

Frankie and Kate looked at each other in confusion and shrugged before turning back to their surroundings.

"Mr. Barton?" Kate called out. She looked around, completely confused.

"Dad?!" Frankie called as well. But Clint was nowhere to be found. "Hey, Lila! Have you seen-."

He turned back to his sister, but he couldn't see her either.

Frankie looked over to the picnic table, but the rest of his family was gone too. His heartbeat began to pick up. Panic filling his mind.

He knew his father was a spy, but he never had the whole family disappear before. Now, Frankie was genuinely worried.

He ran over to the table and whistled. "Nate!" He called out to his little brother. Looking under the table, he saw no one hiding under there. He resumed looking about the property. "Cooper! Mom!"

In the barn, Kate searched to see if she could find anyone hiding.

"Lila? Mrs. Barton?!"

She looked behind a tractor, behind a wall, under a desk. She looked EVERYWHERE for a sign of someone, but to no avail. She was beginning to worry now too.

She ran back out to the field to Frankie but stopped when she saw the bow Lila had used earlier and Clint's ankle monitor on the ground and a patch of ash beneath them.

He breath hitched as she knelt down and picked them up. The worst came to mind as tears formed in her eyes.

"DAD!" She heard Frankie calling, still looking for them.

Kate slowly stood up and walked towards the picnic table which Frankie stood atop.

When she got there, she sat down as Frankie jumped off the table.

"I don't know where they are. It's almost li...what's wrong?" Frankie asked, noticing her tears coming down.

With a heavy heart, Kate looked into his eyes before reaching behind her and held up Clint's ankle monitor and Lila's bow.

When he saw them, he began to hyperventilate as he took them. He held them close and looked back to Kate who looked equally scared. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled him into a hug.

"I think something bad happened to them, Frankie." She wept into his shoulder.

As Frankie took in those words and looking at the items in his hands, the harsh reality began to set in. Overcome with emotions and what felt like part of him dying too, he filled the air with a loud "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

**Wow...I'm literally tearing up as I write this. It really is hard to do it to these kids, but it's all for the good that will come. I hope you guys are still with me on this and that you haven't cried too much.**

**So more is to come for sure. Hope to see you guys stick around, and I'll see you in the next chapter. NinjaBoy out!**


	6. Another Call

*****New Avengers Facility*****

The Quinjet flew over the Compound and slowly landed on the pad. The five inside grabbed their stuff and walked off and inside. They all headed for the common room except for Bruce.

"I gotta make a call." He said.

Rhodey and Rocket nodded and kept on with the Twins towards the common room.

Meanwhile, Bruce walked off and stopped in a hallway that had a glass wall looking outside. Immediately he took out his phone and punched in a number he hadn't typed in a very, very long time.

When he typed it in, he took in a deep breath before hitting the "Call" button.

"Please, please, please!" He whispered to himself as he brought the phone to his ear.

His heart raced as he heard the beeps come.

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Fi- _"Hello?"_

Bruce's heart stopped and his eyes widened when he the voice of his once girlfriend.

"Betty?" He called.

There was a silence before Betty answered back. _"Bruce?"_

A wave of relief came over Bruce. It felt so good to hear her voice. "Oh my god, Betty! I'm so glad you're alright."

_"Bruce, is that...is that really you?"_

"Yeah! Yeah, it-it's me." Bruce was hyperventilating. He was overjoyed that his ex was alive. "I'm so glad you're ok."

_"Bruce, what's happening? Do you know what's going on?"_

"It's a long story. I-I can't exactly explain over the phone."

_"Well, where are you? I'll come to you!"_

That made Bruce freeze. Did he hear right? Was Betty actually thinking about coming to where he was? Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Yeah, that had to be it. The love he still had for her was just messing with his mind. Still, he had to be sure. "Say that again."

_"I said tell me where you are. I'm gonna come to you."_

Nope. Not a mind game. "Betty, I don't know if that's such a good idea. Maybe you could-"

_"Bruce, STOP!"_ She shouted.

He actually jumped when she said that. He could already see the look on her face. Obviously, that secret fiery side she had hadn't suppressed at all.

_ "Now something is happening, I wanna know what. And you know that if you don't tell me, I'll find You somehow. Plus, I'll feel safer being with you. So tell me where you are. Right now."_

Bruce was rendered silent after that. She definitely still had that fiery side. Best not to test it. Or her.

"Ok." He replied, slightly hoarse. "I'll pin you the location. Oh and, you may wanna pack a few things. Wait, where are you?"

Betty, having calmed down from the sound of it replied, _"I'm in DC, why?"_

"Ok, you're not too far then. Good. Hang on."

He pulled the phone from his ear and sent her the location of the Facility. Then he put the phone back to his ear.

"Ok, I sent it to you. Just get here, and...Betty?"

_"Yes?"_ He could hear the concern and care in her voice. It always warmed his heart when he heard that.

"Please be careful." It was more of a statement than a request. But he still said it with the same concern, the same care...the same love that she spoke with.

_"I will."_

After that, they both hung up. That wasn't as bad as Bruce imagined. Truthfully, he was worried that she'd dusted like a lot of others. But he was so glad that wasn't the case.

As Bruce put the phone in his pocket, the room started to shake. Alarm same to Bruce as he ran out of his room and into Rhodey, who was back in his War Machine armor, and Rocket who were running as well.

"What's going on?" Bruce asked.

"We got company!" Rocket replied.

They all headed out of the Facility and stopped in the courtyard. Looking up, there were five small ships, roughly the size of the Quinjet, landing. Seconds after they landed, the one closest had opened and a ramp came down.

Rhodey's helmet came up and Rocket had his hands on his blasters. After the past few days they've had with aliens and ships, they weren't gonna be too careful.

Then something stepped out from the ship and descended the ramp. More behind it. It made contact with the ground and walked over to the three. As they got closer, they saw that it was a woman, and a large rocky looking person that was holding what looked like a giant bug of some sort. And the others that were getting off the ship looked human too!

But when the two people were finally in front of them did Bruce finally recognize her. He stepped out from behind Rhodey and Rocket and walked up to them.

"Hey man! Long time, no see!" The rocky man replied, extending a fist for a fist-pump.

Bruce smiled at the sight of his rocky friend, pumping his fist to the Kronan. "Hey Korg. Miek."

The alien bug squeaked at the Doctor in happiness. Finally, Bruce looked toward the dark skinned woman.

"Hey, Big Guy." She said with a smirk.

Bruce chuckled when he heard her speak. It was a voice he missed. And that voice belonged to the fiery Asgardian warrior, Valkyrie.

"Hey Angry Girl."

* * *

MIKE DROP! 😁😁😁 Well what do ya think? Bruce talked to Betty, she's coming to the Compound and now, Valkyrie, Korg, Miek and the Asgardian refugees are here as well! This is gonna be quite the reunion. If only it could be under better circumstances.

I hope you guys are doing ok. I know this COVID-19 has a lot of us down, but hopefully everything gets well soon.

**Well, this isn't the end. Til next chapter, Ninja-Boy out!**


	7. Looking For A Home

*****Conference Room*****

"So that's how that happened, huh?" Rhodey said, leaning back in his chair.

After bringing the Asgardian refugees inside the compound and having them situated in the living room, Valkyrie, Korg and Miek sat down with Bruce, Rhodey, and Rocket and explained to them what happened.

The destruction of Asgard, Thanos, the loss of half of their people, all of it.

Bruce was able to fill in a few points since he was there too. Well, kinda. He was the Hulk at that point, but he still remembered a few things.

"Yup." Val added, "And you say Thor's...He's gone too?"

Bruce and looked at Rhodey before lowering his head and nodding.

Val closed her eyes and shook her head. It'd happened again. She lost someone close to her RIGHT when she got involved.

'Damn,' she thought to herself, taking another swig from a beer.

"So what're you guys gonna do?" Rhodey asked.

Putting her beer down, Val wiped her mouth before replying. "Well, there's two things. Number one, I have to find this place Thor talked about that could be a new home for us here on Earth."

"What's the name?"

"Um...I think he called it, uh...what was it Korg?"

"I think 'Toesburg' or something?"

It took a few seconds before Bruce realized what she meant. "You mean Tønsberg? Like in Norway?"

Val nodded and pointed at the Doctor in agreement. "That's it."

"And what's Number Two?" Rocket cut in.

Val looked at him and shook her head with a snort. "Still can't believe that rabbit talks."

That just made Rocket sigh and roll his eyes. But Rhodey and Bruce looked at each other confused.

"Uh right, number two is I have to get another one of these." She held up her half empty bottle before taking another swig.

"Well there's more in the fridge," Rhodey started, "Also, you guys are welcome to crash here as long as you need. We'll help you find your new home tomorrow."

"Thank you," Val replied. Taking her beer and grabbing another bottle, she went to the area where she and her people were staying the night.

"Well, night guys!" Korg said as he picked up Miek and the pizza box. "See yas tomorrow."

Miek squeaked to them as the two left, leaving the two Avengers and Rocket at the table.

"Ya know, any other time we'd have a girl Asgardian, a giant rock man, a mutant purple bug and a whole lotta Asgardians, I'd be shocked all together. But given what we've been through these past few days, not so much."

Bruce nodded in agreement while Rocket just shook his head.

They all went to bed that night. Tired, broken-hearted, and haunted by the reality that the people they loved were gone.

* * *

**Alrighty now, that's that for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed having Korg and Miek back as well. I couldn't leave them out! Those two are the kind of guys you'd really wanna hang out with, so we're gonna see plenty of them.**

**Plus, now the responsibility of Asgard falls to Valkyrie. But trust me, her responsibilities are about to get a lot more crazy. Stick around! Ninja-Boy out!**


	8. Here Comes The Pepper

*****Common Room*****

Four days later, Val and Rhodey were back to Norway to settle the matter of the Asgardians getting a home while Korg and Miek stayed behind with the refugees. They had been there, back and forth for the past few days dealing with any paperwork or inspections that may have been needed.

Bruce was in the common room looking at some holographic screens. On them were reports of what was happening in the world. People wondering what was happening to the people they were with, wondering where their families and friends are, and a lot of other panic.

At the table in the room were the Twins playing with a coloring book and trying to teach their new buddies Korg and Miek how to do it.

"So I can't go outside the lines?" He asked them.

"Nope! You have to stay inside of them." Nikki answered him, "Otherwise it'll be all crazy and messy."

Korg didn't entirely understand, but he did his best to stay within the lines with the little crayons. When he finished, he held it up to show the Twins how it looked.

They're looked at each other and back to the book. They nodded and Jamie gave him a thumbs up.

The Kronan smiled and showed his work to his little buddy, Miek. The little bug squeaked in agreement.

As the four of them continued coloring, Bruce watched from the console and lightly smiled at the sight of them having fun. But watching them have fun made him think of how hard it was gonna be when they had to be told the truth about their parents.

His thoughts were broken by something beeping on one of the screens. Looking at it and pulling it, he saw that there was a car pulling into the Compound. It was a fancy, expensive looking car.

Seeing it gave him a small glimmer of hope as he had a feeling he knew who it was.

"Korg, stay here with the kids." He said as he headed to the door and outside to the driveway.

The rocky figure was confused as to why Bruce just ran out, but he was sure going to carry out the request. He looked at the kids and they nodded back to him.

* * *

*****Driveway*****

Bruce stopped at the driveway and watched as the car neared.

It pulled up and stopped right in front of him. The door opened and out stepped the one and only Pepper Potts.

"Bruce."

"Hey, Pepper."

She wordlessly hugged him and he hugged back. It wasn't hard to think of how she felt, since Bruce was feeling the same thing. Confused. Scared. Unsure.

"Where is he, Bruce?" She asked as they broke apart. "Where's Tony?"

Bruce looked at her with a blank face. He wanted to answer, but he couldn't since didn't really know.

"I don't know. We're trying to find out who's all still with us, but we still don't know yet."

While the answer didn't make Pepper feel all the way good, it did give her a bit of hope. Since they didn't know for sure, there was a chance that Tony was still alive. And that's all she needed.

So she nodded.

* * *

Korg, still at the table with Jamie and Nikki, kept an eye on the doorway. Bruce had given him a job, and he was definitely going to make sure he these kids were safe.

"Hey Korg," Jamie called him.

"What's up, bud?" The Kronan replied, looking at the redheaded toddler.

"Thanks for looking after us."

Nikki nodded along and added, "And for being our friend! You too, Miek!"

The alien bug chirped in joy as the blonde twin petted him gently.

Korg smiled at the kids and their kind words to him and his friend. It really made him feel good.

"Thanks guys! You guys are cool too. And I'm gonna be your friend until I'm nothing but a pile of rocks...Well technically, I kinda already am one."

The twins began to laugh at that.

"A walking, talking pile of rocks."

And they laughed at that even more. They really loved this rocky guy. He was funny and just good company.

As they finally calmed down, they saw Bruce walk back in with Pepper right behind him.

"AUNTIE PEPPY!" They both exclaimed, jumping down from their seats and running towards her.

Overcome with emotion, Pepper knelt down and hugged the two as they ran into her arms. It was so good to know that these kids, these little BABIES were alright. It's one thing to lose someone, it'd be worse if it was a child. They were so precious to all of the Avengers and their companions.

Bruce smiled at the sight of the kids hugging Pepper. It gave him a temporary smile to know that they had a little more happiness as opposed to the terrible news of their parents. He still wasn't sure how he was going to tell them.

"Ya ok, bruv?" Korg asked as he walked up, carrying Miek with him.

Before Bruce could answer, Pepper looked up at hearing the unfamiliar voice and stepped back a little with the kids behind her.

"Whoa! Pep, it's ok!" Bruce said immediately, trying to calm her down. "He's a friend."

"Hey, how's it goin'? I'm Korg, and this is Miek. We're friends of Thor."

Pepper didn't really need much more surprising when it came to aliens. She just needed to know which ones were good and which were bad. This one didn't seem bad, even though he was dressed like a gladiator and made of rocks.

"And yes I'm made of rocks." He stated, almost as if he was reading her mind. "But don't let that worry ya. Unless you're a pair of scissors. Little 'rock, paper, scissor' joke for ya there."

Behind her, the twins laughed at that joke. Korg had told it to them the day after he and the others arrived, and it still made them laugh.

Seeing that made Pepper smile lightly too. 'Guess he's ok then.' She said to herself.

"Pepper. Nice to meet you, Korg."

The Kronan shook her hand and the alien bug under his arm waved at her and she almost screamed at the sight of it. But she remembered, friendly. "And you too, uh...Miek, was it?"

Miek nodded and she smiled back to him, letting out a breath as she did. This day was certainly something.

* * *

**More Korg and Miek guys! 😂😂 And now, we've got Pepper here as well. I had to do something to explain how or why she was there as showed in the beginning of Endgame when Carol brought Tony back to Earth. And this was the best I could do.**

**And I had fun doing the scene of Korg and Miek with Jamie and Nikki. It's just cute seeing them talk. Trust me, we're gonna have more moments like these in the chapters to come.**

**So I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	9. Together Again

*****Courtyard*****

Later on, night time came. Pepper had decided to stay at the Compound until they knew the whereabouts of Tony.

It was nearing 10:30 and Bruce was now outside, looking up into the star filled sky. He wondered which one was the planet that Tony was on.

After a while, he let out a long, tired sigh. "Where are you, Tony?" He asked. "Where are you?"

His thoughts were broken by the sound of the front gate opening and a car entering. As it did, he saw that it was slowing down.

The car stopped midway down the path and was across the yard from Bruce. He couldn't exactly see who it was, but he could tell they were looking right at him.

A tingly feeling came to him as he heard the front door open and the person step out. From the looks of the hair, it was a woman. But when she turned, Brice felt his heart clench.

It was her. He saw her, and she saw him.

"Bruce." She whispered, though she felt he heard her.

"Betty." He whispered back.

They stared at each other across the yard, the feeling between them still strong.

She made the first move, closing her car door, walking around it and onto the grass toward him.

Bruce slowly began to walk forward, he was cared that he might be dreaming and that when he reached her, she'd be gone.

His heart began to race as he picked up the pace. "Betty?"

"Bruce?"

"Betty!"

"Bruce!"

The two now ran and closed the space in between them quicker. Soon colliding together in a hug, holding each other tight. Glad to be together again.

"I missed you!" She cried into his shoulder, tears making their way down her cheeks.

Bruce sniffled as he felt the waterworks beginning to work him too. "I missed you too."

They stayed in that position a little while longer before going to her car, parking it, grabbing her things and going inside.

* * *

*****Common Room*****

After putting her things in a room, and changing into something more comfortable, Bruce and Betty sat down on a couch and he explained the situation of what was going on, the fact that his team was lost, and the hardest part, the kids that were left without their parents.

"So their parent are gone?" She asked, really to reassure herself that she heard him right.

Bruce nodded silently.

"Have you told them yet?"

"No. I can't." Bruce shook his head in grief.

"Well Bruce, they're gonna find out sooner or later. You gonna have to tell them.

"Yeah, I know! I just...I don't know how to break it to them."

Looking at Bruce holding his head in his hands, Betty could see that he holding more than just that. He was holding the weight of the kids, what happened to their parents, and the team on his shoulders.

She thought back to the time when they were on the run. He had a similar amount of weight on him then with trying to get rid of the Hulk. And she watched him throughout the years as he fought with the Avengers. She was happy to see that he was able to use it. It seemed like he was happy to have a place in the world.

But now, with one stroke, or snap rather, all of that was taken away and replaced with sorrow, loneliness and grief.

Then a thought came into her head. Just as she stood, or ran, with him back then, she was gonna stick with him now.

She put a hand on his shoulder and hugged him from behind. Kinda like how she did back in 2008 in the hotel room they shared.

"Thank you, Betty." He whispered through oncoming tears.

"You're welcome, Bruce." She replied by kissing his head.

They stayed in that position for a while. The comfort in that moment was so calming, stress relieving.

Bruce held her arms and took the feeling of being in them. He was so happy she was here. With him in his worst hour. She came all this way and now, they were together once again.

* * *

**And now, we have two more friends staying at the Compound. Pepper Potts and Betty Ross.**

**I know a lot of fans have wanted to see Liv Tyler reprise the role of Betty in the MCU. Me being one of them. 😂 😂😂 And to be honest, when I first started working on this story, having Betty come back was a last minute decision...and I don't regret it one bit.**

**So were gonna see plenty of Betty in this story. So stick around. See ya next chapter!**


	10. Lightning Strikes

*****New Avengers Facility, Front Gate*****

A small minivan approached the gate and stopped a few feet away from it.

The passenger side door opened and out walked a young woman in her mid 20's and then the driver-side door with a man in his 50's stepping out.

"Hello! Is anyone in there?!" The girl called out at the security camera.

* * *

*****Kitchen*****

Pepper and Betty were talking over a cup of coffee when a ping came in on the security cameras.

Betty got up from her seat and walked over to the screen.

"Someone's at the front gate." She said.

"Is it Tony?!" Pepper asked, anxiety slightly apparent in his voice.

"I don't think so, I don't see him. You expecting anyone?"

"Other than Tony, not really."

* * *

*****Common Room*****

Bruce came in with a short-sleeved gray shirt and black jeans. "What's going on?"

"Someone's at the front gate." Betty replied.

He came over and looked at the live feed and almost immediately recognized them.

"You know them?"

"That's Eric Selvig and Darcy Lewis!" Bruce exclaimed unbelievingly. He remembered the stories Thor would tell of Erik, Darcy, and Jane Foster. Now, they were here. "Let 'em in!"

* * *

So after the two finally came onto the premises, the Doctor and the Intern walked in and joined the group with James and Nikki on a couch with Korg and Miek next to them reading comic books.

"Dr. Selvig," Bruce greeted as he approached first and shook his fellow doctor's hand.

"Ah please, just Erik, Dr. Banner." He replied, looking like he'd seen a ghost, but still shook Bruce's hand back.

Understanding, Bruce nodded and returned the courtesy by saying, "Bruce. Good to see you again, sir. What's wrong?"

"We need to talk to Thor." Darcy jumped in and replied. "Where is he?"

"Uh..." Bruce looked to Pepper and Betty, unsure of what to say at the current moment.

Pepper may not have know either, but she did know that whatever was about to be said didn't need to be heard by younger ears.

Turning to the group on the crouches, she called out, "Korg, could you take the kids outside for a minute, please?"

The Kronan was slightly confused, but given the look that Pepper gave him, it must've been something they didn't need to know or hear. So he complied.

"Sure!" He replied, picking up Miek as he stood. "Come on guys, we can play catch with Miek! You'd be surprised how light he can be."

Erik and Darcy were shocked by the sight of Korg and Miek, but not entirely scared on account of what they've seen throughout the years.

"Was...was that guy made of rocks and was that a giant purple cockroach in his arm?" Darcy asked.

Bruce turned towards them and shrugged. "Yes, and...I think, I don't know to be honest."

Darcy nodded with a straight line lip expression. "Cool."

"Anyway, back to what you were saying. You said you needed Thor?"

"Yes, it's urgent." Erik stated. "Is he here?"

Bruce began to breath through his nose as he could not find the words to break it to the good doctor. A hand on his shoulder made him turn to see a comforting Betty right behind him.

Taking another deep breath, he finally answered. "He's...he's gone."

"Ok, well when's he coming back?" Darcy asked.

Bruce tried to say it, but it still hurt. But once again, that caring hand was on his shoulder.

"What he's trying to say is...Thor is dead. They're all dead."

Erik and Darcy's eyes widened and their breath hitched in their throats at hearing that. That was something that they never really expected to hear. It sure struck them with shock.

* * *

*****Courtyard*****

Korg and the Twins were playing catch with Miek, tossing him back and forth from each other. It was actually quite fun for them. Since the serum that was in their parents, Jamie and Nikki had a surprising amount of strength for kids their age. So not only were they able to catch Miek, but could also throw him pretty well too.

As they played on, Jamie happened to look back at the building and noticed a girl with blonde hair sitting by the doors of the entrance.

Looking closely, he noticed that she long blonde hair and wore a gray shirt and blue jeans. She couldn't be any older than him and Nikki.

She looked pretty though.

His thoughts were disturbed when he was knocked over by Miek. He didn't see when Korg tossed the alien bug to him.

"Oh crap!" Korg exclaimed, him and Nikki running to help him and Miek.

"Jamie, are you okay?" Nikki asked, worried about her brother.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that bro. I didn't mean to hit ya."

Jamie began to sit up and was helped up by the two and Miek comforting him as well. "It's okay, Korg. And yeah, I'm okay, Nikki."

The blonde hugged her brother, happy that he was alright. And he hugged back.

"What were you looking at?" She asked as the broke apart.

Jamie only answered by pointing to the girl sitting at the Compound.

* * *

The little girl sat on a bench by the doors as though she were waiting for someone. She had beautiful long golden hair that came down a little past her shoulders and a small band held together a few strands on the left side of her face.

She wore a red hoodie with Mjolnir in the middle of the chest, black jeans and gray tennis shoes.

On her neck was a necklace that held a charm in the shape of Mjolnir as well.

She watched her legs dangle on the edge of the bench as Jamie approached her. She began to sense his presence and looked to her right and saw this boy, who had to be about the same age as her, with red hair walked up to her.

She didn't say anything as he neared her. She just watched as he stopped a few feet away and cracked a smile.

"Hi!" He said first.

She was surprised that someone her age actually came up to her and talked to her. Most kids made fun of her. But this boy was being nice to her. This made her feel a new type of good. She couldn't help but smile back.

"H-Hi." She replied quietly.

Jamie smiled even more now that she seemed comfortable with him being there.

He walked a little closer and introduced himself. "My name's Jamie. What's yours?"

The smile on the girls face began to slowly go down. She really tell people her name, that way she wouldn't get made fun of. But she felt as though she could trust this boy. He seemed nice and not a jerk like some kids she'd may in the past.

"It's Torunn."

Jamie nodded at that. "Torunn. Wow. Nice name."

That brought the smile back to the blonde girl's face which made Jamie blush.

"My real name is James. But people call me Jamie. It's my nickname."

Torunn smiled at that. "I like the name Jaime."

That made the redhead boy blush harder. He liked this girl already. "Thanks, Torunn."

Now it was her turn to blush. She looked down and smiled before looking back to Jamie.

The two smiled at that. They had already gotten to know a little about each other and liked what they knew already.

* * *

"So he's gone." Erik leaned against a table as his mind began to digest the notion that Thor, his friend, the man he'd grown to love like a son was dead.

Bruce came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He said, sadness apparent in his voice. "I wish I could've done more."

Erik put his hand on Bruce's shoulder now and gave him a reassuring pat. "You did the best you could, Bruce. That's all you could do."

Bruce still hung his head low. He was happy to hear those words, but it's still stung that he was the only one of his fellow original six Avengers to survive.

"Well, this certainly places an even bigger problem as to why we're here." Erik states plainly.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

Erik didn't answer so quickly. Instead, he looked at Darcy and motioned for her to go outside.

She knew what he meant. It was time to bring in the surprise.

* * *

*****Outside*****

Darcy walked out and came to the bench where she expected Tori to be sitting. But she wasn't there.

"Torunn?" Darcy called out. But she wasn't there. She looked around the car, but she couldn't find her. Panic began to stir up in her.

She ran back inside with her heart racing.

"Erik! She's gone!"

Erik's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but panic was beginning to rise like hers. "What?"

"I went outside and looked where she was sitting, but she's not there or around the car anywhere!"

Erik begins for outside and Darcy follows. Bruce, Betty and Pepper go after them, curious as to who they were looking for.

Outside, they saw the two looking all around.

"Wait, who're you looking for?" Betty asked.

Darcy immediately answered. "A little girl with blonde hair! We brought her with us. She's not so good in new places, and we-."

She looked over into the courtyard and saw her, a sigh of relief leaving her mouth. She bent down and leaned on her knees before looking back up to see Tori playing with Korg, Miek, and Jamie and Nikki.

"Now, isn't that nice." Erik chuckles as he came up next to her.

Seeing the little girl actually playing and having a good time with other kids was amazing to them.

"Is that her?" Betty asked as her, Bruce and Pepper came up alongside them.

"Yep, that's her."

The five of them watched the lovely scene play out in front of them.

"Who is she?"

* * *

In the courtyard, Torunn is still having fun with Jamie, Nikki and Korg and Miek.

On her neck, the Mjolnir charm on the necklace had an inscription on it.

It read:

**'Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.'**

* * *

There was a silence before Erik answered, and then Darcy did.

"Her name is Torunn." Erik started.

"She's Thor's daughter."

Now the other three's eyes went wide with shock, but Bruce's eyes were the widest of all.

They looked at astrophysicist and the intern and back to group out in the courtyard.

* * *

**THUNDER CLAP! We now have three more guests at the New Avengers Facility. And what an introduction for them. We now have Thor's daughter in the building, folks. And in case you didn't notice, its also the first bit of JamesXTorunn in this story. 😉😉😁**

**So this is starting to build up even more. But even more is coming in the next chapter.**

**So stick around, and I'll see you guys in the next one. NinjaBoy out!**


	11. Shocking News

**Next chapter coming in! This one is long and packs a bit of feels. So brave yourselves.**

* * *

*****Quinjet*****

"We're fifteen minutes out." Rhodey said, halfway looking back to Valkyrie who was buckled in a seat behind him and Rocket. "We'll be back soon."

Val nodded as she let out a sigh and closed her eyes. It had been an eventful past few days.

They were able to settle into a town where the Asgardian refugees would be able to live in peace. Granted, it wasn't Asgard, but at least they would be safe.

The only thing that would make it better was if Thor was with them to see it happen.

A tear to escaped her eye as she thought about her friend.

Thinking back to their narrow escape aboard the Statesman, she remembered telling him "Don't die," once again as she had on Asgard. But now, he was gone. Erased from existence by a simple snap.

Now, the role of of "Leader of Asgard" fell to her. Honestly, she didn't want it. But they were her people, and Thor was her friend. And because of that, she would look after them to the best of her ability.

As Thor said, "Asgard's not a place, it's a people."

And Val vowed that she would do everything in her power to make sure that people lived on.

The motion of the Quinjet slowing down brought her out of her thoughts to notice that they had arrived back at the Facility and Rhodey and Rocket were arguing about who the better pilot was as they landed.

She shook her head and smirked at the two. These Avengers are something.

After they landed and were heading out they saw Bruce walking to meet them at the bottom of the ramp.

"Hey man," Rhodey greeted his friend with a bro hug.

"Rhodey." Bruce replied. "Rocket."

"What's up, Smart Guy?" The "raccoon" retorted.

"Bruce." Val said to him.

"Valkyrie. Uh, there's something we have to talk to you about."

The warrior looked confused back to the Doctor. "Me? What's wrong?"

Bruce's face showed a mixture of nervousness and uncertainty. "It's about Thor."

Now it was Val's turn to be shocked and confused. "What is it?"

* * *

*****Common Room*****

Everyone sat or stood in silence.

Bruce, Erik, Darcy, Rhodey, Rocket, Pepper, Betty and Valkyrie.

They all stayed quiet as she, Rhodey and Rocket took in the news that was just told by Darcy and Erik. And what news it was!

Since it was really meant for her ears, Valkyrie was the one hit by it the most. She couldn't believe it. Thor. The Thor she knew, had a baby. Definitely didn't see that coming.

"Hold on, lemme get this straight!" Rhodey interjected. He was beyond confused. "Thor, OUR Thor, has a kid?!"

The Doctor and the Intern both nodded at that. They expected this reaction from him. Val tho? They thought she'd flip or something. But surprisingly, she was taking it well.

The warrior sat there and pondered her thoughts before feeling eyes on her. Looking up, she saw Rhodey and Rocket looking straighter her with a knowing look.

"What're you looking at me for?" She blurted, eyebrows scrunched and a little irritated.

Rhodey shrugged his shoulders with a nonchalant look. "Well you're the only Asgardian girl here."

"And that you're the only Asgardian chick that was close and cool with Thor like that."

"Dude, no! No offense to Thor, but, not my cup of tea."

Not her cup of tea? Rhodey scrunched his eyebrows in confusion at that. "What does that mean?"

Val just replied by lifting an eyebrow with a deadpanned look directed at Rhodey.

It didn't take long though before it clicked in his mind what she meant. "Oh."

"Mhm."

"What?" Rocket jumped in. His head turned back and forth between them, confused and not understanding what she meant, "What's goin' on here?"

"I'll tell ya later." Rhodey whispered to him.

Rocket was still oblivious to what was going on, but he just shrugged it off and shook his head. Whatever it was, it had to be a "humie" thing.

"Yeah, no. She's not the mother," Darcy stated, jumping back into the conversation, "Jane is...or she was."

"And who's Jane?" Val asked them.

Darcy thought for a minute before pulling out her phone and looking through her pictures before she found one that was good enough. She walked over to the Asgardian warrior and showed it to her.

Val examined the picture carefully. This Jane was obviously a very beautiful person. She had a very intelligent look about her. And she had to be strong if she had managed to be with someone like Thor. But there was one more thing. She wasn't Asgardian.

"How?" Val asked, still confused.

Darcy looked back at Erik who had set his glasses on a nearby table and let out a sigh.

They thought back to that happy moment. When times were good and everyone was still alive. Jane, Darcy, and Erik.

The day that Torunn was born.

* * *

**(FLASHBACK)**

*****Royal London Hospital - 2014*****

Jane Foster laid in a hospital bed with her newborn baby girl in her arms.

She couldn't help but smile at the bundle of joy in her arms, as did her friends.

"Congratulations, Jane," Her father figure, Erik Selvig said patting her shoulder. "You really did it."

"Way to go, GIRL!" Darcy added from behind her phone. She was recording this tender moment with a teary smile. "She looks just like you. But the blonde hair obviously belongs to her dad."

Jane noticed that too. She wasn't blonde, she was a brunette. Her daughter's face resembled hers to a degree, but it also showed a resemblance to her father as well.

'Oh Thor.' She said to herself.

She already knew, but kept it secret from him that Thor was this baby's father.

Even though he didn't know about her, her love for him made Jane still want to honor him.

"What're you gonna name her, Jane?" The doctor asked.

"Torrun."

"Torrun Foster."

It wasn't really a question so much as a statement. But it didn't seem right to Jane.

"No." She abruptly exclaimed.

They looked at her, slightly startled by her objection. This was her child. Wouldn't she want her to have her last name?

Taking a moment and maligning up her mind, she explained how it was going to be. "I'm going to honor her father and his culture, and she's gonna be named her after him."

Darcy and Erik looked at each other and then Darcy to her boyfriend Ian. All three of them smiled at that idea. Thor had been a major part of their lives and to see that his daughter would be a part of it as well made them feel so happy to have a new addition to their "family".

"So what's the name gonna be?" Ian asked.

Jane thought for a moment, thinking back to her time on Asgard. She remembered everything. The architecture, the technology, and even the people. And how the names worked as well. The children would take the names of their fathers, like Thor's last name was. Him being Odin's son, it was his birthright to have the last name: Odinson.

And now the Jane held the daughter of Thor, she was going to continue that tradition.

"Her last name will be Thorsdóttir."

A look of confusion came to everyone else's face in the room. Erik, Darcy, Ian, and the doctor and the nurse all were confused at that.

"Kind of a mouthful, isn't it?" Darcy inquired, unsure of it. "Thor's Daughter?"

"No, Thorsdóttir. T-H-O-R-S-D-O-T-T-I-R. With an accent over 'O'."

The doctor looked at his nurse before they both shrugged and she wrote down the rest of the baby's name.

And as that baby laid in Jane's arms, she knew that her daughter was gonna do things that were as great as her father...Her father.

"Jane." Erik cooed. "...You should tell him, you know."

"Erik, I...I don't know if I can. And even if I did, how would I do that? He could be back on Asgard or who knows where.

"His friends might."

The two looked at the Intern with a puzzled look at first.

"What do you mean?"

"His friends, The Avengers. They're close and all, so they would probably know how to call him." Darcy shrugged with a look that showed some positivity.

Erik nodded at Darcy's comment and looked back at Jane. It wasn't a bad idea. Plus, Thor deserved to know about his daughter.

"It's the right thing to do."

Deep down, Jane knew he were right. But then she thought back to the day that she and Thor broke up. It was her that said that they shouldn't be together because she knew that if Thor was with her, then he wouldn't be able to completely fulfill his duties as an Avenger, or as the Prince of Asgard.(A/N: This is based on the Thor 2 Deleted Scene in which Jane breaks up with Thor...even though she still loves him.)

She didn't want to hold him back then, and this, his daughter. THEIR daughter, would make that happen all the more so. And regardless of how much she still loved him and would love to be with him and raise their daughter together, she still didn't want to tear him away from his life.

She couldn't.

"No...I can't..." She whispered, shaking her head as tears began to come out.

"But, doesn't Thor deserve to know he has a daughter?" Ian asked, confused at her decision.

He wasn't alone in his confusion. Darcy and Erik didn't understand exactly how she thought it was a good idea to go and leave Thor out of the picture.

But Jane looked at Darcy's boyfriend with a look of surrender. He was right. She knew it too. Thor **did** deserve to know. And he would. He would. Just not right now.

So she nodded in response to his question. "He does. And he will. I'll tell him and...and whatever happens, I'm just gonna let it happen."

That made their faces go up with smiles.

"Just not right now."

And back down they went. Why did she change that around?

"One day. One day, I will tell him. But for now, I'll raise her. We'll be the only family she knows. Until the day comes where I have to tell Thor about her, we are gonna be the ones who she knows and trusts. And I will never let anything bad happen to her. Nothing."

This baffled her three friends, but there was no confusion when it came to the part about them taking care of Torunn. There was no 'if', 'ands', or 'buts' about it. They were going to help in any way they could. No matter what. They were a family.

And even though they didn't think it the best choice to keep this a secret from their Asgardian friend, they respected Jane's wishes.

As they watched the newborn baby is her mother's arms, they saw a new look on Jane's face. Not on top, but within. And it was that she would protect her daughter until her dying breath as Thor did when he was here.

But inside, Jane could already tell that, like her father, Torunn was meant for great things in her future. And though neither of them knew what is was, one thing was for sure, it was gonna be big.

* * *

Val starred at the phone, observing the picture of Jane closely as she contemplated the story Darcy had just laid out. It was true, but still hard for the Asgardian warrior to swallow.

"So her mother is a Midgardian?" She finally spoke, looking up from the phone to either Erik or Darcy.

"Uh, yes. She..she was." Erik replied, understanding that term from hearing Thor for many years.

"Wow, that's new."

"What do you mean?" Darcy asked.

"An Asgardian and a human child is...something that's... never been heard of before. Really it was...it was thought to be impossible."

Selvig and Darcy looked at each other and then back to Val. "Impossible how?"

"Yeah, the similarities between our DNA aren't 100%, but they are enough to where there's a chance it could be possible."

Val nodded at that. "True, that's a given. But we were led to believe that if the power of the Asgardian didn't do it, the power of the child in the abdomen or the birthing would be too much for a human to handle. But you said that her mother did. That's amazing!"

The Doctor and the Intern understood how she felt. The whole ordeal was SOMETHING for them too.

"I must say, it shocked us too when she told us."

"Yeah, and even more when it was time for her to have the baby."

Wow. Just wow. This was incredible! It was a new species! A new breed of Asgardian and human, and the human mother had survived. That is until...Thanos. She remembered what Erik and Darcy had just previously told her. Jane was now dead. Wiped out by the Snap. That's why they were here, looking for Thor. But he wasn't here either. The Snap has gotten him too.

Worry began to stir in her as she realized what this meant. This child was an orphan! And her caretakers were all she had.

She couldn't let anything happen to her. To any of them! She had to protect them.

"Where is she?" She inquired, she wanted to meet this girl.

"She's watching a movie with the other kids." Bruce replied, finally speaking up.

"Would you like to meet her?" Erik added with a smile.

Val answered with a nod.

As they all made their way to the Theater room, Pepper froze and brought a hand to her stomach as she felt it rumble. Suddenly, a bad taste made its way to her mouth as she felt something threatening to come up.

Immediately, she headed for the bathroom.

* * *

**Well, now Valkyrie knows about Torunn and her backstory. And Pepper's feeling nauseous. THESE ARE KEY POINTS, FOLKS! This'll be expanded upon, so don't worry.**

**And that is the LONGEST chapter I've written for this story. I hope you guys enjoyed it. A lot went into it. I wasn't sure if it would go so well, but it seems to be holding up so far.**

**This story is really coming together, but I apologize if it seems like I'm drawing it out and not getting to the part of them growing up. But don't worry, that's coming within the next few chapters. So please, just bear with me. 👍**

**Besides, the good/hard stuff is coming soon. And these will be key points to this story, so stick around. See y'all next chapter!**


	12. A Treat

**Alrighty! I'm back, guys! And with more emotions here that might not be as much as the last chapter, but still carry feelings. So sit back, relax, and I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

*****Theater Room*****

One of the best things about the Compound was the Theater Room. You talk about a home theater? This place was literally the size of a screening room! Complete with a popcorn machine, a soft drink fountain, and a fridge.

And currently, they were watching Spy Kids and having a good time with it.

On screen, Juni had just tried to punch a wall really hard to show his strength. But it didn't work.

_"You're not that strong, Juni!"_ Carmen said to him.

That made the kids belt out in laughter, Korg and Miek going crazy as well.

"That's so funny because he thought he could do it, but he's not a robot!" He stated before continuing his laugh.

They were so into it, they didn't notice the grown ups walk in.

"Hey guys." Bruce called them. They all look towards the doors and saw the grown ups standing with smiles on their faces. "You guys having fun?"

The kiddos couldn't help but laugh with a big "YES!" since they really were having a good time.

They didn't realize it, but this was the most fun they'd had without their parents around. But they'd have more fun telling them about it when they got back.

Torrun," Erik called the blonde toddler, "We uh, have someone here who'd like to meet you."

He motioned over to Valkyrie who looked at the little girl in amazement. She could see the resemblance between her and Thor. There was a lot of her in her eyes and the hair too, obviously. And them she saw the necklace with the Mjolnir charm and that brought Thor back to mind full picture.

Here stood his daughter. Ten feet in front of her. Spitting image of her father and her mother as well. But yet, both of them were gone. Her mother who'd been the woman of Thor's dreams, and Thor...her new best friend and fellow warrior and "Revenger". Their daughter stood here, waiting for her to introduce herself.

'Well, here goes nothing.' she said to herself.

She slowly walked forward a little so as not to alarm the girl. "Hi there." She smiled with a wave.

Tori, shy to meet and introduce herself to this new person, looked over to her "Auntie" and "Uncle" for help.

Erik gave her an encouraging nod while Darcy gave her a thumbs up and a wink. That helped take some of the pressure off.

"Hi." She finally replied, not too loud and not looking up at her fully.

But this made the warrior smile even more. It made her feel a bit more confident about this and moved her to make to try and take the next step.

"I'm..." she caught herself before she said "Brunnhilde" and decided to go with something easy to remember. "I'm Val. What's your name?"

"...Torunn.."

"Torunn? Wow, a warrior's name! I bet you're as brave as your father."

"You know my Daddy?"

"Very well. He's one of my good friends."

That made Tori's head slowly rise. The mere mention of her father had always caught her attention. All she knew was that he was a great hero and that he'd saved her mother countless times. But that one day, he went away to help save someone.

But now, this other new person knew him too. And that just made her day, hearing something about her father.

Tori's face began to light up, and right there. Right there, Val saw that this was what the girl needed. And she definitely wanted to tell her.

"Would you..maybe like me to maybe tell you about him?"

Tori gasped at the question. " .YES! PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down like Mexican Jumping Bean. She had never been so excited in her life. Jane, Erik and Darcy had told her stories about her father before. Now, she was gonna hear EVEN MORE stories about her father! WHAT A TREAT!

Val held out her hand and the blonde toddler took it and they walked hand in hand out of the room as she began to tell the tale of the "Lord Of Thunder Who Landed On Trash Planet".

Erik and Darcy smiled and the Intern wiped away a few years as the watched Tori laugh at the thing being told her by her father's friend.

This wasn't what they expected when they first arrived, but it still made them feel so glad to see their young ward smiling and not introverted.

Rhodey sniffled a little, as did Rocket. Buy ng the tough guys they were, they did their best to play it off.

Bruce and Betty smiled at the scene too. Course, Bruce didn't know that Betty was thinking that that would've been them if he hadn't had that accident all those years ago. But that was the past, this was the present.

As for the Twins, Nikki was happy for her new best friend. But Jamie... for some strange reason, he began to have a funny feeling in his stomach at the sight of Tori smiling. It wasn't a bad funny feeling, but it kinda felt like butterflies.

He shook it off and thought it was because he was hungry.

"Ok, guys," Bruce started, getting the attention of the Twins and the two aliens in the room, "Who wants lunch?"

Jamie and Nikki cheered, all for it. Korg and Miek nodded, "ready for some grub" as he put it.

"Alright, to the kitchen!"

And the three, plus Miek being held by Korg, raced out of the room and headed for the kitchen.

As the five remaining adults and "raccoon" began to follow, Betty stopped and realized something.

"Wait a minute." she said to no one in particular.

They stopped and looked back to see a confused expression about her.

She turned around and noticed an absence that she was surprised she didn't notice earlier.

"What's up?" Darcy asked, confused herself as to what Betty was looking for.

"Where's Pepper?"

* * *

**Val and Tori have officially met now people! Now begins her learning, not only more about Thor, but also her heritage and Asgardian culture. So, got a lot to look forward to.**

**As for where Pepper went, well, you'll see in the next chapter. And it's gonna be leading up to a key person in the MCU. ;)**

**So I hope yall liked that bit, LMK what you thought and I'll be seeing y'all in the next chapter! Ninja-Boy OUT!**


	13. Possible

**Back again with HEAVY stuff this time! Hope y'all enjoy it!**

* * *

*****Bathroom*****

[TOILET FLUSHES]

Pepper lifted her head up from the toilet and sat down next to it, catching her breath as she had just emptied her stomach of its load.

This had been happening for almost two weeks. But she didn't know what was making her feel queasy all the time. Was she sick or something?...or something.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts.

"Pepper! Are you alright in there?"

'Betty!'

Pepper swiftly grabbed some toilet paper and wiped her mouth before flushing it. "Yeah, I'm...I'm okay."

She stood up and looked in the mirror to fix herself up before unlocking the door and opened it.

"Are you okay?" Betty asked, concern written all over her face.

Pepper did her best to play it off as she back up and sat down on the now closed toilet seat. "Yeah, I just...Ive been feeling like this for the past few week or so."

"A few weeks?" Betty echoes as she sat on the edge of the bathtub across from her friend. She began to think of the possibilities for Pepper's stomach problem. "Hmm...have you eaten anything bad or something that didn't agree with you?"

"Um...not that I know of."

"Could it maybe be a bug?"

Pepper thought about that, but tossed the thought away. "I don't think so."

Okay, no stomach bug, not food poisoning. What else could it be? Then one final thought came to Betty. She wasn't sure, but it seemed like the only other logical thought.

"Pep," she started cautiously, "You don't think you could be...ya know."

"What?"

Betty couldn't think of any other way to put it, so bluntness was the only way. "Pregnant."

Pepper's eye want wide at that before she burst into laughter.

"Oh no! HAHAHA! I'm sorry, but no. I couldn't be."

Of all things, that was preposterous. There was no way.

As the redhead laughed, Betty smiled but still kept a serious look on her face, still not letting go of the possibility of this theory.

"You sure about that?" Betty asked again, not entirely convinced.

As a scientist, it was her job to have theories and explore them. And this one seemed accurate. Pepper, on the other hand, didn't think so. But she was used to this kind of reaction.

"Yeah, I'm sure! I mean, me and Tony haven't been together since..."

Pepper's face began to slowly go down as she realized that Betty's theory might just be true. She thought hard, trying to remember the specific last time she and Tony were together and realized that...

"Since just before he...oh my god."

"Just before what?"

...

"Just before Tony went into space...Betty, I..."

Tears began to form in her eyes as she realized that not only might she be pregnant with her and Tony's baby, but Tony wasn't even here to know it! And she didn't know where he was or when he'd be back...of if he was coming back.

"Oh my god, Betty. What am I going to do?"

She broke into tears but was pulled into a hug by her friend.

"It's okay, Pep. Shhh, don't worry. It's okay. It's not the worst thing in the world. It's beautiful."

"Yeah but...T-Tony's not h-here and...and I don't even know for sure." She cried.

Betty understood that. She remembered when the accident happened at Culver University and she woke up in the hospital. She didn't know where Bruce was or where he had gone. OR when he was coming back. But she remembered how whole she felt again when he did come back and she begged him not to go. The memories made her eyes water, but she couldn't hide that emotion. What she felt then, Pepper was feeling now. But she wasn't gonna let Pepper go through this alone.

"Would you like me to get you a pregnancy test?"

Pepper looked up at her friend, her cheeks stained by streaks of tears that had just rained out. She didn't ever really expect to asked that question, but she did appreciate having someone to help her.

"Could you, please?" She nodded.

Betty smiled at her answer, glad that she could help. "Sure."

She gave Pepper one more long, loving hug before she slowly let go and headed out.

"Oh and Betty?" Pepper called out efore she could leave.

Betty turned back. "Yeah?"

Pepper's eyes began to water just a little again as she smiled at her friend. "Thank you. For comforting me. I...I really appreciate it."

Betty smiled back at the redhead. "Anytime, girlfriend."

And then she continued out of the bathroom and out of Pepper's bedroom. Now alone, Pepper stood up and went to the sink to wash her face.

* * *

*****Living Room*****

Korg and Miek were enjoying some cold pizza while the Twins snacked on their third Lunchable.

Meanwhile, Bruce was eating a sandwich and examining information on a pad when he noticed Betty getting ready to leave. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"To the store." she replied, "I gotta get a pregnancy test."

Bruce almost choked on his lunch at that. "A what?!" He exclaimed.

Betty laughed as she immediately knew the reason for his reaction. "Don't worry, Bruce. It's not for me, it's for Pepper."

Hearing that made Bruce calm down, but then he came right back up again.

"Wait, Pepper?!"

"Yeah. There's a chance she might be pregnant and she just wants to be sure."

Bruce thought that through and nodded at that, understanding Pepper would want confirmation.

"Oh ok."

"You need me to get anything for you while I'm out?"

Bruce shook his head, "No, I'm ok. Just...please be careful out there."

The concern in his voice made her think back to when they were on the run almost ten years ago. She would always tell him to be careful and stay safe. He'd always say "I know" and would keep on. And now, he was telling her to be careful as she was going out. How the tables had turned.

"I will," she assured him before pulling him into a hug and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

That shocked him. He hadn't felt the spark of her lips in so long, he'd almost forgotten how it felt. But to feel that was so entrancing.

Betty smiled and giggled as she walked away, leaving the Doctor there in his dazed state.

When Bruce finally came back to reality, he realized Betty had already left. Out of curiosity and a little pride, he felt his cheek where she had kissed him and could feel the spot.

"Wow." He whispered to himself. "Not bad, Banner."

He cracked a smile and went back to his lunch and his pad.

* * *

An hour or so later, Betty had returned. Pepper was currently taking the test while she waited outside of the bathroom, thinking about what she had seen when she left.

The city was devastated. Even though it'd been almost a month since The Snap, there was still a lot of cars smashed into each other, people crying in the streets, and there was even a helicopter stuck from having crashed into a building.

And to think, all of this chaos and sorrow because of a snap. Thanks to six ancient powerful relics, one simple snap made all of this terribleness come about.

As she sat there thinking, she was just glad she was here at the Compound. Safe with friends and people she cared about and who cared about her.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of a toilet flushing and the bathroom door partly opening. She stood and walked into the bathroom and saw Pepper sitting on the toilet which had the lid down.

The test lay on a folded paper towel on the sink, waiting for the results to come up.

Pepper sat with her head in her hands and her eyes red from crying. This whole thing was just one big tidal wave of emotions that were just coming down hard on her. And the fact that Tony was who knows where and not here did not help her nerves any either.

But she was comforted once again by her friend who was seated next to her on the edge of the tub, putting a loving hand on her shoulder. Pepper looked up to see Betty with tears beginning to form in her eyes as well.

It hurt her to see her friend in this position, but that wouldn't stop her from comforting her best she could. Even though empathy was eating at her heart too.

"Whatever happens," she began, "We're gonna get through this together. Okay?"

Pepper nodded and wiped her tears away before pulling Betty into a hug, to which she returned. Betty patted Pepper's back and lighty rocked her back and forth to soothe her.

"You know, I know you're a scientist. But you'd be one helluva shrink." Pepper said, laughing a bit.

That made Betty laugh as well. She was glad that Pepper was able to make a joke to ease the tension.

"Well, it's crossed my mind. But I'm happier with the field I'm in now. Besides, I might not have met Bruce or any of you guys if I had gone for that."

"True. But then you wouldn't be worried about you or your man getting shot at."

"Touché."

The two both laughed at that and broke apart to look at each other smile. It was a nice moment. Had this been any other setting without the world in its current condition, these two might've been in a coffee shop, hanging out and talking about their love life or something. But unfortunately, reality set in again as Betty remembered the test on the sink.

"Should be about ready by now." She said, motioning to the plastic stick.

Pepper let out a heavy nervous sigh as she turned and slowly reached for the test, but before pulling it to her to read it, uncertainty and fear set in again.

So in a swift motion, she handed it over to Betty. "Could you read it for me please, Betty? I..."

But Betty understood completely as she took it. "I gotcha."

She looked down at the test and examined it carefully. Seeing the result there, her eyes went wide. Pepper noticed this immediately and grew worried.

"Well?" She asked, almost impatiently, "What does it say."

"...two lines."

"Two lines. So that means...What a minute." She reaches behind her and grabbed the little box the test came in and read what two lines meant.

When she saw it, she felt her heart drop. It couldn't be. But it was. "It's...positive..."

The silence in the room grew as the two sat there, shocked at the results of the test.

It wasn't something she'd thought she'd ever say in this kind of situation, but Pepper finally gained enough voice enough to say the following. "I'm pregnant. With me and Tony's baby."

All Betty could do was nod and put her arm around the redhead. She held her as she cried and thought of what to do next. What was she gonna tell the others? HOW was she gonna tell the others? And how was she gonna do this without Tony?

As the two stayed in their current position, a voice came in on the intercom in her room.

_"Hey Pep?"_ It was Rhodey.

Since Pepper could barely speak at the moment, Betty patted her back as she stood and answered the call for her.

"Hey Rhodey, it's Betty. Pepper's in the bathroom. What's up?"

_"Oh ok. Well, when she gets out, can both of you meet us in the living room?"_

"Uh yeah, sure."

_"Alright, thanks."_

The call ended and Betty walked back into the bathroom to see Pepper washing her face at the sink.

As she came up and dried her face, she looked at herself in the mirror and let out a breath. Finally composing herself, she turned and walked out to Betty and nodded.

She nodded back and the two walked out of the room together, Betty holding her with an arm around her shoulder for comfort.

* * *

They walked into the the common/living room and saw Bruce, Rhodey, Rocket, Erik, Darcy and Val standing there at a table with a holographic screen up and loading.

"What's up, guys?" Betty asked as they joined the group.

"We're getting a transmission." The colonel replied.

"Who's it from?"

"I don't know, but we're about to find out."

Suddenly, a video came up on the screen of a young teenage boy and began playing.

"Hey guys." They heard as they watched.

Everyone who watched it was confused as to who this was. But for Bruce, Pepper and Rhodey, they knew good and well. Though Bruce had never seen his face, he recognized the sound of the boy's voice.

"Oh my god." Pepper gasped, "It can't be."

"What, who is that?" Betty asked.

"It's the kid." Rhodey replied with unbelieving eyes.

The three of them watched in shock as the message from none other than Peter Parker played on.

As it did, emotions started going through them, mainly Pepper. For Rhodey and Bruce, it was hurt as they heard what Peter said in his message. Finally, it ended and left them all speechless.

Silence filled the room as none of them knew what to say. Peter had just sent them a message that held barely anything but sadness. Now what?

Suddenly, Rocket got an idea.

"Do you have the coordinates of where this came from?" He asked.

Rhodey looked and pointed. "Yeah, it's right here."

Rocket examined them and then, he got an idea and took out a small pad from one of his pouches. He turned it on and swiped a few times. What he was about to do, he never thought he would since he didn't think he'd be without a ship. But since Earth wasn't like other planets with scores of spaceships and aliens, desperate times called for desperate measures.

All eyes were on Rocket as he worked away on his gadget. Bruce looked at Rhodey who shrugged and shook his head.

"Uh, Rock, you wanna share with the group what you're doin'?" Rhodey asked him.

"Makin' a call," he grinned as he pressed a final button.

On the screen, it showed three dots as a signal to wait as the call went through. The last dot kept on beeping though as they waited, a starry blue background came up with a red star insignia in the middle.

Finally, a young Hispanic boy came onto the screen and smiled at the "raccoon".

_"Hey Rocket!"_ He waved.

"How's it goin', kid?" He replied.

_"Eh, getting better. We're steadily getting things somewhat back together here on Xandar. What about you?"_

"That's what I'm callin' ya about. I need a favor."

* * *

**Well well well... this is a lot. This is what I've been leading up to ever since Pepper arrived and Peter lost Tony on Titan.**

**Now, Pepper is preggy and Peter sent a message to the group. But how did he do that? What did he say in the message? And who was the kid Rocket was talking to?**

**Both of these and more will be answered in the next chapter! See y'all then! Ninja-Boy OUT!**


	14. Drifting Off

A ship floats along in the never-ending sea of space.

*****Benatar*****

Peter and Nebula sat at a table with him teaching her how to play paper football.

Peter held the ball with a finger with one hand, held his finger back with the other.

_Flick._

The ball flew up and across the table when suddenly, Nebula jumped up from her seat and tried to grab it, but missed. The swift action made Peter flinch back a little.

"I missed!" Nebula growled to herself.

Peter, not wanting to make her any angrier, picked up the ball and explained it to her.

"Don't worry, it's okay! Actually, you don't have to do that. 'Cause you're just holding your position right here like this. See?"

Peter showed her how to hold her fingers together. She slowly calmed down and watched him as he demonstrated the action to her. Then she copied and held that position.

"Ok, we're gonna try again, alright?" Peter set the ball and readied himself. "Ready?"

Nebula nodded and eyed the paper ball.

_Flick._

The ball flew towards Nebula. She resisted the urge of her reflexes to catch it and let it fall on the inside of her hands/goal.

"And that's all you gotta do to score a point. So that's one point for me." Peter stated. "Your turn."

So Nebula, having a somewhat general idea of what to do, took the ball, stood it up underneath her finger and focused her aim.

_Flick._

The ball flew right over Peter's fingers, giving her a point. "Hey, nice job! That's was close, you're getting there!"

Hearing this made Nebula feel a sense of pride. She was getting better at this. And the good news was, when she did something wrong, Peter wasn't abusive. Not that that would've mattered much. He was small enough for her to disable and kill easily. But still, he treated her kindly and didn't even yell.

"I would like to try again." Nebula stated.

"You got it!" Peter agreed happily.

They played another round which included Peter scoring but then Nebula did. Then she scored again. And again! Each time, getting better at her game. A small smile as Peter congratulated her. He held out a fist for a fist-pump, but Nebula jumped back and held up her fists in defense.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's wrong?" Peter asked with his hands up and a little confused.

"You we're about to punch me!" Nebula hissed.

That confused Peter even more. But then he understood. "Oh no, it's not a punch. It's a fist-pump. It's something friends on Earth do. Like this, watch."

She watched as he showed her with the motion of making two fists and pumping them together. "See? No hurting. Now, you try."

Peter put out a fist again. Nebula looked at it, then to Peter and back to his fist. Her body began to ease up as slowly sat back down. Then she hesitantly mimicked the action and pumped her fist against his.

A smile came to Peters face. "Boom! Nice! Ok, let's go again."

* * *

Peter's Iron Spider helmet sat on the floor.

He reached down underneath it and turned it on. The one remaining lens lit up, scanned him and began to record.

"Captain's Long. Stardate...Unknown." He started, leaning back against a wall. He was already getting teary-eyed, "He-Hey, Avengers. Uh, and Ms. Potts too if you're watching this. Or whoever, really... Um...If you get this video...uh...well, you may not wanna post it or anything. 'Cause it could be a real tearjerker for anyone who's an Iron Man fan, heh. Or a Spider-Man fan too, I guess. Although, I'm pretty sure there's more Iron Man fans than Spider-Man fans since, ya know. Haha...yeah..."

It was normal for Peter to sometimes joke during times of stress or if he was under pressure. It helped a lot. Especially when he lost someone. But right now, it was harder than ever.

"I don't know if you're ever going to see this. I don't even know if... if you guys are still... Oh god, I hope so. Uh, today is day 21? Uh..no, 22. We lost...I...I failed. Mr. Stark, he's...he's gone. I'm so sorry. I tried, I really did. And we...I...I'm just so sorry..."

Peter took deep breaths as he wiped away the tears that began to come down.

* * *

Peter stood at a window looking out in space, starring out into the dark star filled void. Though it was beautiful, it didn't make him feel good that he might die in it.

_"Ya know, if it wasn't for the scary part of dying in space and losing Mr. Stark, I'd say I'm having a great time. My first time out in space. It'd be great. It's like all my Star Wars dreams come true. Heh...Um, anyway, we uh...we made some new friends when we were on Titan, but we lost them with Mr. Stark. Except for Nebula. She's the only one that survived other than me."_

* * *

The two played more paper football and Nebula won again, getting better at her game. A small smile as Peter congratulated her. He held up a fist again and this time, Nebula knew how to react and pumped it back.

"Fun, right?" Peter asked.

Nebula settled back into her chair before replying, "That was fun."

A small smile picking at her lips, to which Peter did the same with a bigger one.

_"She can be a little hard to understand sometimes. But after a while, you'd understand her just fine. You guys would love her. She'd make a great Avenger. She's only a little...sadistic."_

* * *

_"Anyway, uh...some fuel cells were cracked during our fight, but we found a way to reverse the ion charge to buy ourselves about...48 hours or so."_

Peter and Nebula were working on the fuel cells. He was welding and working with something until Neubla handed him a part, he took and welded it into place.

_"We're dead in the water now."_

* * *

_"Food's all gone, and...oxygen's gonna run out tomorrow. And that'll be it..."_

Peter and Nebula sat with the last of the food packets. There was a little bit left, so Peter decided to give it to Nebula and handed it to her.

She was touched by the gesture. But she knew that him being young and human, he needed it more and pushed it back to him with care.

Now Peter was touched. He smiled at her and nodded in thanks and finished the last bit of it.

_"And uh...if you... I should probably get some rest."_

* * *

Back to Peter sitting down. He paused as he thought of his final words.

"Please know that... when I drift off, I will think about you guys. It was an honor meeting you and working with you all...and I wanna thank you. And just one last favor...Find my Aunt, May...and...please tell her I love her...and that I'm sorry."

Once he said that, Peter wiped away his tears and ended the recording. Leaning back against the wall, he let out some more tears.

As he did, he slowly put a jacket around him as a cover and laid down on the floor, his weakness beginning to take over. He wrapped his arms around himself as he set himself on his shoulder. It was semi-comfortable, but he was so tired that he didn't even mind it as he slipped into unconsciousness.

A few minutes later, he was out. Hungry, thirsty and just tired.

Nebula came up to the bridge and found him there. Hurting to see her young new friend laying on the cold metal ground, she knelt down and picked him with an arm over her shoulder. Slowly, she walked him over to one of the chairs that faced the frontal window.

Peter, not fully asleep yet, groaned and said "Thanks, Nebula." with an exhale of breath to his blue friend. A tear escaped her eyes as she heard that. No one had ever really said 'thank you' to her before.

She had become close to this young human, he had become a real friend. That made it hurt even more for her to watch him die like this.

"You're welcome...Peter," She whispered back to him. As a final gesture of care and sorrow, she lightly hugged him with one arm. She felt a light pat on her back from Peter who was growing weaker by the minute.

Nebula then stood up and patted Peter's shoulder before walking away.

As he sat there in the chair, halfway unconscious, Peter thought of Tony. The Avengers...his best friend, Ned...and May.

May raising him, comforting him at night when he had nightmares. Her many failed attempts at cooking. Meeting Ned for the first time and the two hitting it off immediately. Late nights spent watching Star Wars and considering which side was better to pick.

Meeting Tony Stark for the first time and being able to fight alongside him as Spider-Man.

All of these wonderful memories danced inside of his brain as he began to slip into unconsciousness.

Suddenly, Peter felt the sensation of a bright light on his eyelids. He squinted as he slowly opened his eyes.

When he did, he saw an almost blinding flashing blue light. Peter thought maybe he was dreaming and that the lack of oxygen was starting to get to him. Then slowly, the light began to dim.

It dimmed down more until Peter saw a person. His eyes widened at that. He was looking at what looked like a human in a shiny blue type of space suit with what looked like a grey vest on with three circles forming a kind of upside down triangle and a blackish-blue helmet on. And he had blue energy radiating from his hands and boots.

Peter didn't know what to do at all. He just sat there frozen, staring at the...he didn't even know what to call it. His first thought was alien, but it looked human. So...maybe humanoid?

He didn't have much time to think about it as the person nodded at Peter with a smile and gave him a thumbs up, before descending beneath the ship. Peter followed it with his eyes until he couldn't see it anymore.

Suddenly, the ship began to move. The humanoid/alien was moving the ship! From what Peter could tell by looking outside, the ship was turning. A couple seconds later, the ship stopped turning and pointed in a certain direction before going forward.

In any normal case, someone would freak out. But something told Peter that this wasn't the case. He had a feeling that whoever, or whatever that was out there, it was there to help.

* * *

**So, how do you think I handled this scene? Peter and Nebula becoming friends was really fun to do.**

**To be honest, this one was a little difficult since RDJ aced this scene with his skills. But since I switched this out with Peter, I tried to think of how to make this more him than Tony's. But I hope you guys enjoyed it.**

**Also, Nova is here! What did you guys think? Thought I was gonna have Carol show up? Nah! That is because, unfortunately, in this story, she was caught in The Snap...yeah. Sorry about that. Don't worry, I've got it covered. Plus, I think I chose a good replacement for her in this scene. And we'll be seeing more of Nova. Believe you me!**

**Also, If you remember the comment I mentioned in the chapter before last, I mentioned the user who said the story was getting boring, I forgot to add one thing. It may seem like I was dragging this story along, but actually it's because, If you remember in the movie, When we saw Tony and Nebula on the ship? Tony mentioned it was "Day 22" since he'd been gone. So that's why it's taken a while to get to this. Sorry if it took too long for your liking, but I had to do what I could to be timely accurate and make a good story as I wet along as well.**

**So hopefully you guys enjoyed it and that you're still with me. See ya next chapter! NinjaBoy OUT!**


	15. Home Again, Home Again?

*****Jamie and Nikki's Room*****

10:30 PM. Bedtime. Something all kids hate...until they're asleep of course. It was a process, getting to sleep.

Well, right now, Jamie, Nikki, and Tori were in that process right now. As they did, the blonde felt the urge to talk about something.

"Jamie?" She whispered out to the redheaded boy.

"Yeah?" He replied almost instantly.

"Are you asleep?"

"No."

"Me neither. Just thinking."

"'Bout what?"

"My father."

"Uncle Thor?"

"...yeah. I really can't wait to meet him!"

"Excited?"

"Yes! Auntie Val told me so much about him and I just can't wait to meet him!" Even though it was dark, Jamie could tell she was smiling. And that made him smile.

"Yeah. I can't wait to see our Mommy and Daddy too. I miss them."

Now it was Tori's turn to smile for her friend. "Yes, I can't wait to meet them as well!"

"You'll love them! And they'll love you too."

A bigger smile came to Tori's face as she thought of meeting Jamie's parents. And the thought of them loving her only made it better. She definitely was looking forward to it, as it gave her a warm feeling inside.

Then her mind went back to her father. The thought of meeting him for the first time brought up questions to her mind. What would he think of her? Would he be happy and care for her, or would he disown her and leave?

That gave her a saddening chill as that sat in her mind. "J-Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"What if he doesn't like me?"

"Uncle Thor wouldn't do that."

"But what if he does? What if...what if he hates me and leaves?"

Jamie then slid out of his bed and knelt down to Tori's sleeping bag and hugged her. She instantly hugged him back and felt a bit of relief, but the nagging doubt in the back of her mind still haunted her.

"Its gonna be alright, Tori. Your Dad's gonna love you. He won't leave you. And I'm definitely sure he'll like you."

"How do you know?"

"Because...because I like you." The words slipped out. But Jamie meant them.

And just like that, Tori stopped her crying and caught her breath. "Y-you do?"

The redheaded boy nodded and was embraced by the girl happily. He was happy she couldn't see the red coming to his cheeks at that moment. The same went for her too.

Little did the two a of them know that those three small words would have a bigger meaning/impact on their future.

Up on the top bunk, Nikki smiled and rolled her eyes at her twin brother, trying hard not to laugh.

'What a sissy!' She thought to herself.

* * *

Hours later, the three kids were peacefully sleeping. Nikki slept soundly in her bunk, whereas Jamie had actually snuggled in the sleeping bag with Tori.

She was happy with it. It actually calmed her down more and brought her peace of mind enough to be in a peaceful slumber. And Jamie didn't mind a bit either. As long as Tori was smiling, the five year old redhead was happy.

Suddenly, a rumbling echoed into the room. Then the whole room started to shake, waking the three almost instantly.

Tori held onto Jamie and he held her too as he cried out, "HELP! Help us!"

Soon, the bedroom door burst open with Bruce and Betty standing there.

"Hey! Hey, guys, it's ok!" Bruce said, trying to calm them down.

"Uncle Bruce, what's going on?" Nikki cried.

"It's nothing bad, don't worry, sweetie. He hugged her and she hugged him back. He then put her down with Jamie and Tori, seeming a little frantic. "Betty, stay with them. I'll be back."

Betty nodded and held them all close to her, and they clung to her and to each other. "It's gonna be ok, guys. I promise." She cooed.

"What's happening?" Tori asked, worried about what was coming.

But Betty held them close and calmly answered with a smile. "More friends are coming."

* * *

*****Courtyard*****

Outside, Bruce, Rhodey, Erik, Darcy, Korg and Miek, Val, Rocket and Pepper all stood there and watched as a spaceship, the Benatar, was carried down by a bright figure.

Slowly, it brought the ship down for a landing, letting go as it did. The bright blue energy dispersed from the figure and took off it's helmet to reveal the same young Hispanic boy Rocket spoke to earlier.

He walked out from underneath the ship and over to the opening doors in the back. He was met with looks of surprise and thanks as he stood there as the stairs of the Benatar lowered.

"Attaboy, Sam." Rocket said with a proud smirk. "Ya did good."

"Well, I had a good teacher." The boy, Sam, replied with a shrug, nodding at the "raccoon".

Rocket smiled pridefully and seeing that made Sam pleased with himself. But that moment was broken when the sound of footsteps coming down the metal steps.

Everyone looked up to see a sweaty, tired, drowsy Peter Parker being helped by an equally tired, but still strong Nebula.

Pepper and Rhodey met them at the bottom of the stairs, immediately taking Peter into their arms. Pepper hugged him while the Colonel patted his shoulder. "Welcome back, kid."

Peter lightly smiled at him as Pepper broke the hug and held him with tears in her eyes.

"We...we couldn't stop him." He breathed, his lungs hungry for that good tasting oxygen.

Rhodey nodded as he and Pepper began to help the kid along. "...Neither could we." He replied.

They all began to walk back to the Compound. Erik and Darcy lagging behind as they were contemplating the large ship right behind them.

On the steps of it, Nebula sat. Tears forming in her eyes. She was soon joined though by Sam and Rocket. Both of whom were a bit teary-eyes themselves due to recent events.

Though they weren't entirely close, Rocket, without looking, reached over and held her hand. Surprisingly, she didn't flinch or move in the slightest. This was one of those moments Gamora had taught her about expressing emotions through showings. Be it crying, hugs, or even holding someone's hand.

Sam mimicked the action by putting a hand on Rocket's back, in which the "raccoon" put his other hand on the kid's knee.

And they all sat there for a time. Just to let it all set in. Grateful to have each other even though they had all lost so much.

* * *

**Well, that's three major parts in moving action.**

**1\. Jamie and Tori are bonding.**

**2\. Sam Alexander is finally stepping into the light.**

**And most importantly...**

**3\. Peter is back on Earth.**

**So this is all key stuff that will build as the story goes on. But that's a good piece for now to leave you ready for the next bit. Just do you know, the next chapter is really gonna be letting off some hard emotions. So that's what's coming up. But until then, hope you guys enjoyed and that you're all OK out there during this COVID. Be careful.**

**Ninja-Boy out!**


	16. NOTHING!

**TRIGGER WARNING! This chapter contains a display of pent up emotion, recalling of the loss of multiple loved ones, and EXTREME venting. Just a heads up.**

* * *

*****Common Room, 10:00 AM*****

The events that took place earlier that morning had everyone so awake that they couldn't go back to sleep.

Now, they all were present in the living room. With the exception of the kids, of course. They were told to stay in their room.

Peter sat at a table in a wheelchair, an IV bag hanging on a pole next to him.

On the holo-screens, profiles of people came up on a casualty report. People that were wiped out from the Snap...people that they knew.

Steve Rogers. Natasha Romanoff. Sam Wilson. Wong. Stephen Strange. Jane Foster.

Darcy and Erik put their heads down when they saw Jane's profile come up. This was a lot. More reports came up.

Clint Barton. Nick Fury. Maria Hill. Scott Lang. Eva Alexander. Kaelynn Alexander.

The last two made Sam's breath hitch in his throat. 'Mom...Kae...' he thought to himself.

A tear trickled down his cheek as he and the others watched the reports continue on the screen.

"World governments are in pieces, as you can imagine." Rhodey started, "But the parts that still work are trying to take a census. It looks like he did what he said he was going to do."

"Which was?" Darcy asked.

Bruce stepped in to answer this one. "Uh, Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all the living creatures on Earth."

"Not just on Earth." Sam interjected. Everyone looked at the young Hispanic boy, confused at what he meant. But Peter knew. "It happened all across the universe...everywhere."

Bruce's eyes widened at the sound of that. The whole thought of it all was just too over whelming.

"So does um...anyone know where he is...like right now?" Peter asked.

Rhodey shook his head and folded his arms. "Nope. Guy just opened up a portal and walked outta there."

Peter thought about that until he was pulled from them by movements his peripheral vision. Looking to his right, he saw in a small outside area, Valkyrie was pacing around. Shaking her head and hitting the wall as she did.

"Uh...is she ok?" He asked.

Almost as if she heard him, she looked back inside towards the group before she continued her pacing.

"Eh, she's pissed." Rocket answered for him. "She thinks she failed. Feels she could've done more, but there's a lotta that goin' around, ain't there?"

Peter's eyes went wide at the sight of Rocket. He looked just like a raccoon! Only he was apparently anthropomorphic and could talk.

"Ok, I'm gonna be honest. Up until now, I thought you were a life-sized plush Ewok."

Not knowing what kind of creature this kid was referring to, he didn't let it bother him. "Maybe I am." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Bruce cut in and continued on the earlier subject. "We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep Space scans, and satellites, and we got nothing."

"Look, Peter, you fought him." Rhodey stated. It was more of a question than a statement, but still.

The spider teen nodded with his head low. "Yeah...well, I punched and kicked him in the face a few times and then he grabbed me by the neck threw me into the ground, but yeah."

"Yeah, okay. Well is there anything else?" He pressed. "Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?!"

"Rhodey," Pepper called, not wanting to aggravate Peter. Peter though, sat there beginning to seethe. It hurt him to think about the events that happened almost a month ago. Though for him, it was like it was the night before. And it burned a whole in his mind every time he thought of it.

"...No...No he didn't.." Peter replied with his head down. He was trying to keep a lid n himself best he could.

"Look, Pete," Rhodey began again. Already, Peter knew what was coming and it made him so enraged. "I'm gonna need you to focus."

And that's when he lost it.

"No, what YOU NEEDED was EACH OTHER!" He shouted back, bringing a fist down hard onto the table in front of him.

All eyes were wide and on Peter. His nostrils flared a he breathed heavily, his eyes now staring directly at Rhodey. Normally, he wouldn't yell at someone. Especially an adult. But just like back in 2017, when no one would listen to Peter, he just had to vent.

"You guys should've been together. Fighting Thanos together. Ya know, that's the one thing I never understood. When Mr. Stark found me and asked me to help? He didn't tell me much. All he said was that we had to stop Captain America. Which was CRAZY to me since you guys are a team. Oh, excuse me, SUPPOSED TO BE a team! You guys have saved the world a bunch of times, but just like that, you all split up and then fought each other."

The teen began to stand up from his chair, knocking things from the table as he did. The others in the room lightly winced at the sound of the items clanging against the floor.

"Peter, hold on." Pepper interjected, trying to calm him down. She could see that he was letting out a lot of pent up emotion, but he wasn't done yet.

"No, it's okay, Ms Potts. I'm good." He lightly patted her shoulder and got out of her hold and stood on his own, his rage giving him strength. "If you guys had just found a way to come to an agreement and work together like you should, Cap wouldn't have been on the run with his friends, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, we all could have won."

Rhodey took this as an opportunity to try and cut Peter down. "Kid, you have no idea what we were going through."

"Yeah, because you guys didn't TELL me!" Peter retorted. And that made Rhodey quiet down. He knew Peter was right, they didn't tell him.

You'd think Peter wouldn't go so far as to get angry and lash out at someone, but the events of the past month and some change were too much for him that he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"And ya know another thing that's funny," He started again as he tried to stand, his second wind coming in fast. "When we were in Berlin? You didn't-"

"Peter, sit back down. Please!" Pepper tried to reason with him, Bruce joining her in trying to pull him back to his chair. But there was no stopping him.

"When we were there, you doubted me. Not only that, you doubted Mr. Stark as well! He told me! He said you guys thought he was out of his mind for recruiting a 15 year old kid! Well guess what, Colonel? I AM that kid! A kid who can stop a bus with his BARE hands! A kid you doubted you best friend for! The that thought up how to take down that giant shrinking guy in Berlin. The kid that had to watch as Mr. Stark DIED IN HIS ARMS! And NOW, you need my help. Well in the words of the Jonas Brothers, 'Oh, how the tables have turned!'"

Rhodey swallowed a big gulp as he listened to the kid vent. He didn't know he knew all of this. But it was true. He remembered back in Berlin when he questioned Tony's judgment of bringing Peter in. Never thought it'd come back to bite him in the butt.

"Well I'm sorry, guys! But I've got nothing for you. NOTHING! OKAY?! Also, uh...buddy?" Peter pointed at Sam who was leaning against a wall with his arms folded. "What's your name?

"Sam." the space kid replied.

Peter nodded and thumbs upped the Hispanic kid. "Sam. Thanks, you're great, man. You're new blood. Welcome to the Avengers! We need all the help we can get. It could help next time."

"Okay, Pete, calm down." Bruce cut in again, holding Peter by the shoulders. "Calm down, it's alright."

Once again, Peter got free of Bruce's hold and looked at him. There were tears forming in his eyes. "No it's not, Doc. It's not, we-we lost. We lost...and I lost more than I ever had! Mr. Stark was like a FATHER to me and now he's GONE! That's the THIRD father I've lost! First my real dad, THEN my uncle, AND NOW MR. STARK!

Peter looked back to Rhodey and then was right in front of him. His eyes were wide and he was literally shaking. He was so into it that his voice went down to a venom-filled whisper.

"So no, Colonel. I don't have anything for you. No locations, no ideas. Nothing. Zero. Zip! ZILCH! NADA!"

There was a silence. The tension in the room so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

Finally, Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out Tony's Mk. Nanotech Arc Reactor and slapped it into Rhodey's hand.

He finally broke the silence with his next words. "This is all I got for you."

"That's Tony's-"

"Yeah, it is. And here's a tip. You find him. You find Thanos. You put your armor on...and you hide."

Once he said that, Peter began to feel dizzy and a little light headed. All that venting took it out of him. He stumbled before catching himself by leaning in the table behind him.

"Whoa! Peter, you alright?" Bruce asked, a hand on the teen's shoulder in an entirely different tone.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good, I'm..."

Peter didn't get to finish thanks to a lack of breath. And just like that, he fainted and was out like a light.

"Peter!" Pepper exclaimed, kneeling down to try and help the teen.

Bruce knelt down quickly and took Peter's pulse. He was alright, just out cold. Rhodey came around with the wheelchair and helped get Peter up into it.

As they wheeled him away, the others in the room let out a sigh that they didn't even realize they were holding in. The event that had just occurred in front of them was something that no kid should have to go through. Powers or no, it wasn't supposed to be like this.

And yet, they felt so helpless as they had the same kind of crushed emotions inside of them as well.

Crushed and in need of mending. And quick.

* * *

**This chapter...really drained me emotionally... Seriously, I had to back up and recompose myself so many times before continuing. It was hard and overwhelming to put in that dialogue for Peter, yet it was also easy since I've actually been in a situation like that where I've had to vent and unload...and it was something to have to put it into writing.**

**But, I hope you guys enjoyed it and that you're still with me on this. This has honestly got me on the edge and I can't wait to keep it going and developing Peter and Sam even more as the story goes on.**

**So thank you for reading, and I'll see you guys next chapter. Ninja-Boy out!**


	17. The Truth

**Summertime is here! Have as much fun as you can, but still be careful. ;) Enjoy this chapter too!**

* * *

Previously

Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out Tony's Mk. L(50) Nanotech Arc Reactor and slapped it into Rhodey's hand.

He finally broke the silence with his next words. "This is all I got for you."

"That's Tony's-"

"Yeah, it is. And here's a tip. You find him. You find Thanos. You put your armor on...and you hide."

Once he said that, Peter began to feel dizzy and a little light headed. All that venting took it out of him. He stumbled before catching himself by leaning in the table behind him.

"Whoa! Peter, you alright?" Bruce asked, a hand on the teen's shoulder in an entirely different tone.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good, I'm..."

Peter didn't get to finish thanks to a lack of breath. And just like that, he fainted and was out like a light.

"Peter!" Pepper exclaimed, kneeling down to try and help the teen.

Bruce knelt down quickly and took Peter's pulse. He was alright, just out cold. Rhodey came around with the wheelchair and helped get Peter up into it.

As they wheeled him away, the others in the room let out a sigh that they didn't even realize they were holding in. Little did they know that this whole time, they were being watched.

In the hallway leading into the room was little Nikki Rogers. She was out of her and her brother's room to get a snack, but she had heard yelling and decided to see what it was all about.

So she stealthily tiptoed down the hallway until she reached the door and peeked into the room. And she had heard the heated argument that had just occurred in the room, but she also saw the holoscreens. On them were profiles of people who came up missing. Two that came up confused her and made her breath hitch.

Captain Steven Grant Rogers  
(Captain America)

[MISSING]

Natasha Alianovna Romanoff  
(Black Widow)

[MISSING]

"Mama?...Daddy?" She whispered to herself confusingly.

Tears began to form in Nikki's eyes as she saw them. Her heat began to race as well. Why were there images of her and Jamie's parents missing? Weren't they out trying to catch the bad guy? Because Uncle Bruce told them so. Unless...did Uncle Bruce lie to them?

She didn't know, but she wanted to be sure. Quietly as she came, she tiptoed away. Back to her room to get help.

* * *

*****Jamie and Nikki's Room*****

Jamie and Tori were on the floor drawing and coloring on their drawings. Jamie has the idea of them making some art for their parents for when they come back. Sort of a 'Welcome Home' gift. And for Torunn, it was a gift that carried her excitement and love for her father. And she hoped very much that he'd like it when she met him. It was cute too.

Jamie made a drawing of his father's shield and of his mother's logo, and Tori made one of her father's hammer, Mjolnir with lightning around it.

They kept on with their project until they were joined by a very curious and confused Nikki.

"Hey Nikki!" They both greeted her.

"Hey..." she replied, not really looking at them.

Jamie, already knowing from the look on his twin sister's face could tell either something was up, or something was bothering her...or both. So he asked her. "What's wrong?"

Nikki didn't really respond at first. Mainly because she didn't know how to comprehend the situation fully, at least, not from a grown ups point of view. But from a kid's point of view, it seemed easier to both understand and explain.

"Hey, do you guys remember the movie we watched the other day?" She asked.

It didn't take long to get a response. "Spy Kids." Tori stated.

"Right. Well, ya know how Juni and Carmen's parents went on a mission and something happened to them?"

"Yeah. And Juni and Carmen has to go save them. Why?"

Nikki was starting to get a bigger idea of this situation as she thought about similarities between 'Spy Kids' and their current situation. The dots were connecting in her mind.

"I think something's happened to Mama and Daddy." She stated, unsure about the truth behind it.

Jamie and Tori looked at each other and had the same confused expression on their face. "What do you mean?" Jamie asked.

"I just overheard the adults talking and they were looking at these pictures of people that are missing. Mama and Daddy came up as missing too."

"What? But Uncle Bruce said that they went to go get the bad guy?"

"I know, but...I think...I think he lied to us..."

Lie? Uncle Bruce? Jamie didn't want to believe that. He just didn't want to. But then again, there was a part of him that thought it could be a possibility. Ever since they had returned home from Wakanda, they hadn't heard so much as a single "They're ok!" about their parents...what if...what if Nikki was right?

"But, why would he lie to you?" He asked.

"I don't know. But, we have to find out why."

"Do you know how to find pictures of your parents on the screens?" Tori asked.

Nikki shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. What do you think, Jamie?"

Jamie didn't want to assume anything. That his sister was wrong, OR that Uncle Bruce has lied to them. Right now, it was too soon to tell. They'd need more info. More proof.

"I think we need to find out the truth." He stated.

Nikki and Tori nodded at that. Even though Tori wasn't sure about the current status or whereabouts of her father, she still wanted to help he friends find out about theirs. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

"So what do we do?" She asked, her and Nikki looking to Jamie for his thoughts.

"We're gonna have to look for the proof, but we're gonna have to choose the right time. For now, we'll just act like we don't know anything. As if everything is like we were told, that our parents are out there, trying to catch the bad guy."

The two girls nodded in agreement.

"And when the moment is right, and the grownups are gone," Tori started.

"-We infiltrate and get the info we need." Nikki finished.

"Alright! Hands in, team!" Jamie said, holding his hands out.

Nikki and Tori put their hands in and they all linked before raising them into the air.

"ASSEMBLE!" Jamie proudly exclaimed.

The two girls had faces of confusion at that.

"Don't you mean 'BREAK!', Jamie?" Tori asked.

"Well, that's just something my Daddy would always say to his friends they were working, and I kinda wanted to use it."

A sense of pride flowed through Jamie as he said that, mentioning his father. And Nikki could see it too. Their Daddy in him. A leader. That was her brother.

The three of them were ready, their first mission together. Only thing was that it wasn't life or death...well not really. But it was still a covert op. And they didn't have anyone else, it was just them. No backup, no extraction.

They'd carry out this mission to the best of their ability...after a snack, a nap and a sign that the cost was clear.

* * *

**A covert operation for five-six year olds?...I'm game!**

**This was something I put together last minute because I wanted to start building Jamie, Nikki, and Tori's story up. So I think it's going on a good direction. Now, someone here suggested that I bring in Yelena Belova into this story. Which, ngl, was a pretty good idea. But the thing is, idk if she survived the events of Black Widow movie since there's a part in there that shows Natasha holding a hurt-looking Yelena with tears in her eyes. And even IF Yelena did survive those events, there's no telling if she, Melina, or Alexei survived the Snap...so...yeah I decided against it. **

**But don't fret, Yelena will have her time with the kids one day. I promise you.**

**So I hope this was a good chapter/addition to this story for you. Til next time, this in Ninja-Boy, signing off!**


	18. Little Captain Meets The Spider

*****Medical Room*****

The room was quiet as the three individuals stood around the fourth.

Bruce injected an unconscious Peter with a sedative to help him sleep peacefully. Pepper stood on the opposite side of the bed, rubbing Peter's like a caring mother. Rhodey, on the other hand, stood back and watched.

As the three prepped to leave the spider-teen to rest, they were unaware of a pair of eyes watching them.

Jamie was hiding in the hall around a corner. He was out trying to find out anything that he could about his parents, since that was "the mission". But he was gonna do it by way of the kitchen to get a snack. But on the way, he noticed Bruce, Pepper and Rhodey in a room with another boy and his curiosity was peaked.

So he kept his distance and hid until he saw Bruce, Pepper, and Rhodey walk out of the room, pass the corner he was hiding behind and continue down the hall.

As they did, Jamie looked around the corner behind him but then walked over to the corner on the other side of the hall and listened as the three stopped and talked.

"I'm an idiot." Rhodey stated, rubbing his temples.

"No you're not, Rhodey." Pepper retorted. But Rhodey wasn't so easily convinced.

"You sure about that? I mean, everything he said was true. I've given that kid crap from the moment he walked in and now...it's come back to bite me in the a**."

"Rhodey, you thought what any other adult would think in that kind of a situation." Bruce added, trying to comfort his friend. "If it had been anyone else, they'd all think the same thing. They'd say 'What is this kid doing here?' It's just common sense."

Rhodey let out a sigh and shook his head. What Bruce said was probably true, and he knew that. But he still was conflicted with his thoughts.

"Maybe, Bruce. Maybe...but, he's right. He's not a normal kid. He can shoot webs, and climb up things, swing, and flip. And apparently, he can catch a bus with his bare hands! He's...he's a hero...and I didn't see it..."

Hearing that caught Jamie's curiously. He looked back behind him to the room they just came from and thought about the person inside. 'Sounds cool!' He said to himself.

"Just lemme know when he wakes up, okay?"

"I will," Bruce assured him.

Jamie watched as Rhodey departed from the two with his head down, a look of disappointment on his face.

Then he saw Pepper leave and then Bruce. No one else was there. He was all alone in the hallway.

Looking back to the patient room, he thought a bit about what he had just heard. Apparently, some extraordinary superhuman was in that room. The thought of another one here made him a little excited. This meant new friends! So he looked around to make sure they coast was clear and then began to walk towards the room.

He entered and saw the young boy sleeping in the bed, an IV bag connected to his arm.

Jamie walked around the bed and jumped up into a chair next to the boy's bed. He sat there and examined the sleeping boy. He noticed that he was a kid. A teenager! This was something Jamie never thought he'd see. A young superhero. Who, even though he was older then him, was much closer to his age than any of the other Avengers. This made him think.

'Could I maybe be a superhero too?' He said to himself.

Looking back at the boy, Jamie also noticed a few bruises on his arms, probably from being in a big fight recently. His closed eyes had light bags under them, a sign of lack of sleep. Possibly from fatigue.

His body seemed to be quite strong despite his unconscious state. Jamie figured that he must've been really tired to look like this and be out this cold.

So he sat there and watched the boy, and he waited for him to wake up.

He waited...and waited...and waited.

* * *

Dizzy. Slight headache. A bit drained. Thirsty. These and a few other words described Peter as he slowly began to regain consciousness.

As he opened his eyes, he saw that he wasn't in the common anymore. He must've passed out and been moved here.

He could hear the beep of a heart monitor, the feeling of an IV connected to his arm, the pain in his head that made him wait a bit before moving. The dry, chapped sensation within his mouth. In short, he wasn't too comfortable.

He began to look around the room, but was met by the presence of a young boy with red hair sitting in a chair next to his bed.

"Hi!" He said.

"Um, hi." Peter replied hoarsely. He waved with two fingers before letting them drop back down.

"Oh!" The boy hopped out of his seat, walked over to the counter and picked up a glass of water and brought it to Peter. To which the spider-teen gladly took it.

"Thank you!" He gasped as he stopped drinking to catch his breath.

"No problem." Jamie replied. "Whenever I wake up, I know I get thirsty. So I thought you might be thirst too when you wake up."

Peter happily gulped down the last swallow of the clear liquid and gave Jamie a look of appreciation. "Well, you were right about that. Uh, could I maybe have some more please?"

"Sure!" Jamie took the glass and walked back into the room's bathroom and began to refill the cup at the sink. Having successfully done so, he brought the glass back out to the still thirsty Peter.

"I'm Jamie." The young redhead stated with a smile as Peter took the glass and took in a swallow.

Taking a moment, he stopped and looked at the five-year-old with a weak smile. "I'm Peter."

"Nice to meet you, Peter."

"Nice to meet you too, Jamie." He took a few more gulps. "Ahhh! Thanks for the water. I really needed that."

"You're welcome!" Jamie took the glass and set it back on the counter and then he hopped back into his seat. Peter let out a sigh of contentment as he laid back onto his back.

A few quiet moments pass until Jamie feels the urge to ask Peter a certain question. "Are you a superhero?"

Peter opened his eyes wide and looked at Jamie with a confused, yet curious look. "Huh?"

"I heard Uncle Rhodey talking talking to Uncle Bruce and Auntie Peppy about a kid that could shoot webs and climb and-and swing and everything!"

Peter snickered at that. "Well, I don't know about 'everything', but the other stuff? Yeah, I can do all that."

"So you are?" Jamie's eye we're wider now and his excitement even higher.

"Pretty much, yeah. I'm..I'm Spider-Man."

"Whoa! That's so cool! And the name too!"

"Heh, thanks. Now I've got a question."

"Okay."

Before he asked, Peter thought of the nicest way he could put it with out seeming offensive. "Where're your parents? Are they, um...did they uh...did they get..." Without putting it into words, Peter used his hands to mimic the motion of something being blown away in the wind. "...in the Snap?"

Jamie didn't really understand what Peter meant. But he knew why his answer was.

"Oh, no." Jamie replied, a proud smile coming to his face. "My mommy and daddy are out there catching the bad guy!"

'Catching the bad guy?' Peter thought. What did he mean by that? Who were his parents? Wait, we're they part of the Avengers?

Peter's brow furrowed as he began to get more curious of the situation.

"Who're your parents?"

"Well, my Dad is Cap'ain Amewica. And my mom is the 'Bwack' Widow."

At that moment, Peter's eyes went wide with shock. "Wait, Captain America and Black Widow are your parents?!"

Jamie nodded with a smile. Peter on the other hand was stumped. He didn't even know Cap and Black Widow we're married.

"Wow, definitely didn't see that coming." He said, mainly to himself.

But wait, if they were Jamie's parents...why was he smiling? And what did he mean by 'they were out trying to catch the bad guy'? How could they catch Thanos if they were...if they were dead? Could it be possible that Jamie didn't know about what had happened to them?

And then it clicked in Peter's mind. Jamie didn't know. Though he should, Peter didn't want to be the one to tell him. To break this little boy's heart with the sad reality that his parents were gone. That wasn't Peter. He had just found a new friend within Jamie, and he didn't want to lose that.

So he decided to keep it under wraps and keep Jamie's smile up.

"So...son of Captain America and Black Widow, huh?" He said, trying to start conversation.

Jamie nodded again proudly. Peter nodded too as he tried to think of what next to say. Usually, trying to start a conversation with new people was easy for him. But this situation had entirely different circumstances. Still though, he tried.

"Do you uh...do you know how to use a shield like your dad?"

A small look of sadness came to Jamie's face as he thought about that. "Not really. I've seen my Daddy do it a few times, but I don't think I can."

"Oh, I'm sure you could, Jamie! It's not that hard. In fact, it's in your blood. So you should be able to do it just like your Dad did. DOES! Does. That's...what I meant to say. Does."

Jamie thought about that. Maybe Peter was right. Maybe he could do it! "Maybe. But I wouldn't know how to use it or even move like he does."

"How bout this, when I get better, which shouldn't take long, I'll show you a few moves."

Jamie's face lit up at the sound and thought of that. "Really?! You mean it?!" He asked, excitement apparent in his tone and facial expression.

Peter nodded in reply, a smile on his face now at the sight of the younger boy happy. "I promise."

Jamie then jumped up from his chair and hugged Peter as best as his little arms and hands could. And Peter returned the hug as well.

"Thank you, Peter." Jamie said with heart and love for his new friend.

But as he did, he made sure that Jamie wasn't looking up at him so that he couldn't see the look of worry on his face. Peter thought about how it would come out when Jamie learned the truth about his parents. He wasn't sure, but he knew it wouldn't be good. So for now, he assigned himself a certain task.

Look out for Jamie. And that's what he was going to do.

Little did he know though, that Jamie had made a promise to himself too to look after Peter. Even though he was smaller and not as strong, he would look out for his friend and make sure no one would mess with him. No one.

And he didn't realize it, but those thoughts and emotions made Jamie just like his father. A good man...or in this case, a good boy.

* * *

**The Little Captain has now met The Spider. The two leaders of the Next Avengers have met. It's all beginning to come together.**


	19. Another Way

*****Peter's Room*****

Peter woke from his heavy sleep thanks to the sunlight and his grumbling stomach.

"Hungry much?" a voice jokingly asked.

Peter looked over to the seat by his bed to see his rescuer from a few days ago, Sam, sitting there with a smirk.

"Uh, yeah." He replied, a bit surprised at his unexpected visitor.

Sam nodded at that before reaching under his seat and pulled a Burger King bag, reached in and tossed a burger over to Peter who caught it with ease.

"Figured you might be when you woke up," He stated as he began to eat one of the burgers himself.

"Thanks, thanks for that. Um..Sam right?"

"That's me. Sam Alexander."

"Yeah, sorry I almost didn't remember."

The Latino kid chuckled at that. "Not surprised. When I told you, you were kinda...blowing your lid."

Peter remembered that. And a tinge of guilt came with it. He let out a sigh as the memories came flashing back. "...yeah."

The two teens ate in silence for a minute before Peter's thoughts moved over to the kid who saved his life.

"So you've got powers too?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yup."

"Are they natural or...?"

"Nope. It's all in the helmet." Sam tapped the side of his head to further his statement. "But it's a lot cooler than it seems."

"Sure looks it. I didn't see any breathing apparatus on it though. Your mouth is visible and it seems easy enough to slip on and off."

"It's uh, heh, it's a long story."

"I've got plenty of time." Peter shrugged his shoulders before taking another bite of his burger.

So Sam began to explain the complexities of the Nova Helmet to Peter. How it allowed him to breathe, how it had it's own artificial intelligence/log on every planet in the universe, and how it gave him the power of something called The Nova Force.

It was all intriguing, but Peter was curious as to where and how Sam got the Helmet. So much so that he asked him about it. Sam obliged and began to tell Peter the story of his father and that he had passed, how the Helmet originally worked for him and no one else, and that he left it for him before he did. He told him of how he met the Nova Corps on some planet called: Xandar. Then he met the Guardians and was trained by them and gained another family with them.

It all boggled Peter's mind. To the point where he couldn't help but feel emotional about it. Sam, was in essence, a space cop with superpowers! How cool was that?! But he also lost his father...Peter could definitely relate to that in more way than one.

It was at that moment that the spider teen felt a ping of hurt as he began to relay too Sam his life story. His parents leaving, losing his uncle, how he got his powers, became Spider-Man, became an Avenger, found a father within Tony...to right now.

Sam never really had a close friend before, but Peter was quickly becoming one. One that he could relate to, talk to, an actually be cool with. It was really overwhelming.

"I'm sorry, Peter." Sam said with a bit of hurt in his voice, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that.

"It's alright, man. At least we made it this far, right?" Peter held up a fist for a fist bump.

Sam smiled and huffed before bumping his fist with Peter's.

* * *

About an hour or so later, Peter had dozed off while Sam watched ESPN videos on YouTube on his phone. As he did, he began to think about his and Peter's past and how similar they were. And then he thought of how they had both lost people they cared about recently from The Snap.

Then the pain came back. It tore him to pieces.

He had to do something about it. So he stood up, pocketed his phone and walked out, careful not to wake Peter.

What he didn't know was that Peter's hairs stood up, waking him almost instantly.

* * *

*****Kitchen*****

The grownups, and Rocket were all sitting at a table when Sam walked in and stood there firmly.

"I'll be back." he stated before walking out.

Rocket caught it right away and jumped up from the table and chased after his human friend. He caught up to Sam in a hallway as he was heading out.

"Whoa, Sam!" Rocket called out. "Wait, where are ya goin'?"

"I just gotta do something. I'll be back soon. And I'll bring a Xorean elixir for Peter too..."

"But where are you going, kid?" Rhodey asked, confused at what he meant.

Sam stopped for a minute and took in a deep breath, let it out, and then answered. "To kill Thanos."

"Whoa!" Rocket exclaimed, jumping in from of the teen and holding his hands up. "Hold on. First off, you can't take on Thanos by yourself. Granted you got powers. Some really good ones too, but you can't handle him on your own. He will rip you a new one!"

Rhodey nodded in agreement with the "raccoon".

"Yeah, and no offense, cuz I've literally got my a** roasted for it the other day, but you're a kid. Killing someone...it's not something that you can just do. And at your age...it'll swallow you whole."

"Maybe. But something's gotta be done."

"Yeah, it does," Bruce nodded in agreement. "And we realize up there is more yours and Rocket's territory, but this is our fight too.

"You even know where he is?" Rhodey asked.

Sam shrugged his shoulders at that. "No. But, I know people who might.

"Don't bother." They all looked behind Sam to see Nebula there with the look of a heavy heart on her face. "I can tell you where Thanos is."

They all fell silent at that.

* * *

*****Common Room*****

Everyone had gathered in the common room. Rhodey, Bruce, Rocket, Sam, Valkyrie, Korg, Miek, and even Pepper, Erik, and Darcy were there. All of them had come to listen to what Nebula had to say.

From the look on her face, it seemed that what she had to say was not without a heavy heart or painful memory. But she took a deep breath, reminded herself that it was for good that she was doing this, and let it out.

"Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. And when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask 'where would we go once his plan was complete?'. His answer was always the same: 'To the Garden.'"

Rhodey scoffed and rolled his eyes at that. "Oh, that's cute. Thanos has a retirement plan."

"So where is he?" Bruce asked, still a bit confused.

On a table, Rocket stood on a table with a small remote in his hand. He pressed a button, activating a hologram of Earth.

"When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it." The hologram showed a large, colorful energy surge that had gone over the whole planet and flashed off into space.

Everyone in the room knew what that energy surge was. And more importantly, they knew the results of it too...everyone in that room knew the results. And it wasn't easy to go over.

Then, Rocket pushed another button and continued.

"Until two days ago.." The hologram went from Earth, out of the Milky Way, past two galaxies until it stopped on another planet that had the same power surge go all the way around it and into space once again. "-on this planet."

"Thanos is there." Nebula stated, confidence in her voice.

There was a silence before the same realization came to everyone's mind.

"He used the stones again." Betty stated, examining the hologram closely.

Then another idea came up. But Bruce cut it off before anyone could speak it.

"Hey, hey, hey. We'd be going in short-handed, you know."

"Look, he's still got the stones, so..." Rhodey started, trying to think of a reasonable view of why they needed to do this.

"So let's get 'em." Sam blurted suggestively, "Use them to bring everyone back."

"Just like that, eh?" Korg asked.

"Yeah." A voice agreed. They all looked to see Peter standing there with a determined look on his face. "Just like that."

Sam looked over to Peter and the two shared a look and give each other a nod of understanding.

Rhodey and Bruce were shocked most of all. Peter seemed to be in much better condition that he was two days ago.

"Pete, you alright?" Rhodey asked.

"Never better, sir." The spider teen replied with proud smile, saluting the colonel.

Rhodey gave Peter a respectful nod at that. The kid had a lot of Tony in him. But he was also brave like Cap. He admired that and mentally slapped himself for not seeing it before.

There was a silence in the room as they processed all of this new information.

Pepper chimed in. "Look, even if there's a small chance that this can be undone, then it's gotta be done. Right?"

"If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?" Bruce asked, still not entirely sure about this plan.

"'Cause before, you guys didn't have me." Sam stated with his arms crossed confidently.

"Hey, new kid?" Rhodey called the young space kid, "Everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my asking, where the hell have you been all this time?"

"Ya know, there are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have guys like you to protect them."

Even though it wasn't meant to be rude, that shut Rhodey up. It certainly was an eye opener though. Not only were they not alone in the galaxy, but there were also people that were protectors out there. And now, this involved all of them.

Valkyrie, who had been sitting at a table and eating crackers this whole time, stood up and walked over to Carol. He turned and looked at her as she stopped right in front of him. He was confused as to what she was doing, but he didn't seemed phased by her being so close to him. She held up her hand to where it was right at the side of Sam's head, and waited. Suddenly, Stormbreaker flew across the room, stopping in Val's hand which was inches from Sam. Yet, the young Latino didn't even flinch. Instead, he smiled at the Asgardian Warrior with a raised eyebrow.

This kid had guts. That impressed her. "Hmm, I like this kid." She said with a smile before looking to the rest of the group.

Well, that settled it. They were really doing this. And hopefully, it would have a better turn out.

"Let's go get this space punk." Peter said, the same look of determination on his face.

* * *

**And here we go. Sam and Peter are becoming good friends and now, they're all going to get justice for their fallen. This is gonna be big. And it's gonna get even bigger with the kids and more returning characters in the next chapter.**

**See ya then!**


	20. Inevitable

**It is with a heavy heart that I post this next chapter...almost didn't, but...enjoy.**

* * *

*****Compound*****

A Wakandan ship slowly descended before landing. Once it did, two people exited the vessel. Okoye and Little Azari.

Bruce and Rhodey came out to meet the two Wakandans.

"Gentlemen." The general said to them.

"Okoye." Bruce greeted, attempting to do the Wakandan salute. "How's that?"

He had crossed his wrists together, but not close to his chest. But he made a good effort.

"Good. Very good." She commended him, doing it back to him in respect.

"How's it going, kid?" Rhodey smiles at Little Azari.

"I'm good, sir!" The prince replied. "Are Jamie and Nikki here?"

"Yeah, they're inside playing." Bruce added.

The prince looked up to his guardian with an innocent face. "May I go?"

The general smiled and nodded and the boy swiftly ran into the Compound to find his friends.

Now that they were alone, the three grownups were able to speak on a more serious level.

"Thanks for coming." Bruce sympathetically thanked her, a light shrug at his shoulders. He knew this was hard for her. It was on all of them. But she was glad to.

"Of course. Anything for my king...and for my friends."

Bruce and Rhodey nodded, understanding what she meant and how she felt.

"Who's watching Wakanda?" Rhodey asked.

"The Princess. Now that T'Challa is...the land needs their leader. She was next in line, but...she wasn't so eager to do so. She said it didn't feel right to take the mantle."

The two Avengers exchanged looks of hurt and pain at the sound of those words. It hurt to see allies beaten up like this.

They hadn't known the Wakandans yet r T'Challa very long, or very well. But they did know something. He was a good king, a good man, and a good friend. So the fact that there was a chance they could bring him back gave Okoye all the more hope.

"Well, come on," Rhodey said, "Wheels up in thirty."

* * *

**30 Minutes Later**

* * *

*****Courtyard*****

Two people walked out of the Compound and onto the lawn, towards the Benatar. Sam and Peter. They are in their suits, helmets off for both of them.

As they made it to the steps of the Benatar, they stopped. A slight feeling of uncertainty came to them, but only Sam spoke upon it.

"You sure about this, Pete?" He asked.

"Not really. But what've we got to lose?" The spider-teen replied with a shrug.

Sam was going to say "Our lives," but he knew that those were pretty much taken with the people they all lost in the Snap. So he decided to leave it at that and nodded at Peter before walking up and into the ship.

Peter stood there for a minute, eyes closed, breathing deeply. This was gonna be his second time in space, but that's not what bugged him. It was the fear of failure. Failure...they couldn't fail this mission. Otherwise-.

"Peter!" A little voice called him. Turning around, he saw Jamie, Nikki, Azari, and Torunn holding Valkyrie's hand, running up to them.

"Hey Jamie!" Peter replied, taking a knee down so he could be at eye level with them.

They got right up to him before Val let go of Torunn's hand, gave her a hug and walked onto the ship.

"Where are you going?"

Peter thought for a moment as to how he should put it to them. "We're uh...we're going...to..."

"Is it about our parents?" Nikki asked, hope in her voice and eyes.

Thinking about the details and the potentially outcome, Peter found it a little easy to tell them. "Yeah, kinda. We're gonna go bring them back."

The smiles that lit up their faces hit Peter's heart when he saw them. It was nice to see them smile. And if they were successful, then the kids would have an even bigger reason to smile.

It wasn't a lie, he just wasn't telling all that was included in the situation. But it wasn't a lie. They were planning on bringing everyone back. By way of going to another planet to retrieve some powerful space stones and use them to bring back everyone that was killed in the Snap. Probably not what the kids thought though.

"Be good for me, ok?" Peter asked, looking at the rest of them. "Look after them?"

Jamie looked to his three fellow youngsters and took Peter's words as an order/responsibility. And he would carry it out and make him proud.

"Yes sir!" He said, confidently.

The two smiled and shared a hug. Peter held Jamie tight as Tony had with him back on Titan. Now, he was in his shoes, and he would do his best to do better as Tony would have wanted.

"Alright, see ya, bud." Peter said, breaking the hug, ruffling Jamie's hair before he stood and began to walk up the steps onto the ship.

The four kids stood there, with Pepper, Betty, Erik and Darcy, and watched as the Benatar's engines came on and the ship lifted up off the ground. They waved to it as it ascended higher and higher until it was out of sight, only a cloudy smoke trial left as it made it's into space.

The grownups encouraged the kids to go inside, but they wanted to stay out a bit longer. So they allowed it and let them stay.

* * *

*****Space*****

Just above the Earth, The Benatar floated smoothly. Inside, a serious question had to be asked.

"Okay," Rocket began, "Who here hasn't been to space?

Behind him and Nebula sat Peter, Sam, Rhodey, Korg, Miek, Bruce, Okoye, and Valkyrie.

"Why?" Rhodey wondered out loud.

Rocket didn't exactly reply. He just stated, "You better not throw up on my ship."

"Approaching jump!" Nebula stared as she began to count down, "In 3... 2... 1!"

Within the next second, the ship shot forward! Going as fast as...well, at what Peter determined to be warp speed. forward into a hexagonal shaped portal, and before going through another, having it arrive at their destination. The ship slowed down and began to ship hover in orbit of the planet.

* * *

Sam hovered outside of the ship, helmet on and engulfed in blue light from his powers.

"I'll head down for recon." He said before turning and flying down to the Planet below.

* * *

Back inside the Benatar, Peter sat in his chair thinking about Jamie and the kids back on Earth. And about what he'd have to tell them if...if...

A hand came to his shoulder. It was Valkyrie. She'd seen Peter deep in thought and decided to talk to him since the two had never really previously met. "You ok?" She asked him.

"I don't know," he simply replied with a shrug. Completely unsure of the future events of the next hour.

The Asgardian could see that the young hero was troubled, and rightly so. She knew exactly how he felt. They all did. But at least now, they had a chance.

"This is gonna work, Peter." She reassured him, patting his shoulder.

A long sigh was exhaled from Peter's nostrils as he thought about it. All he could do was hope. "I sure hope so...Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't."

Val nodded at that, knowing the situation would be the same for her should it go that way. But whatever the situation, they were going to go through it together. Whatever the situation.

Not too long after that, Sam came back into view as he approached the Benatar.

"I got nothing." He said, "No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him."

Nebula spoke up as she heard those words. "That's enough."

This was it...this was the moment.

* * *

*****The Garden*****

The planet was beautiful. Peaceful. It had mountains, waterfalls, fields, trees. It was a lush tropical fauna. And a certain part of the area had a field. Within that field, a scarecrow-like figure stood stiffly. It was clad in the armor of The Mad Titan.

A purple skinned being walked past the scarecrow slowly, limping as it did. It was him, it was Thanos.

On his hand and forearm, a burnt, battered Infinity Gauntlet. He used it to picked a piece of his crop from its stalk and tossed it into a sack before picking it up and continuing on. He guided himself back to his sanctuary. As he did, he winced with every step. His whole left side, burnt, blistered. Not exactly the strong tyrant he was three days ago.

Finally reaching his homestead, which was a quaint little shack, he slowly raised himself onto each of the three steps it took to get onto the porch and finally skidded his way in.

Inside, there was a little area where he had a somewhat of a small kitchen. There was also a small fire with a pot of a soup-like substance boiling in it.

Suddenly, a big beam of blue energy crashed through the roof and hits Thanos. He holds up his Gauntlet clad arm to try and protect himself. But as soon as he does it, a figure of blue flies through the roof, knocking Thanos down. It was Sam! He swiftly jumped up, power punched the purple tyrant and took his neck into a headlock. A rumbling came as the Hulkbuster armor burst up from the ground, and grabs Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet arm. Valkyrie then flew in, Stormbreaker in hand and sliced off the Infinity Gauntlet. From above, Rhodey in his War Machine armor dropped in and grabbed the Titan's green arm while Rocket covered them, aiming straight at Thanos.

Spider-Man walked up the steps and entered before his helmet came down, revealing a determined look on the young hero's face. Okoye, Korg and Miek walked in right behind him, staring murderously at Thanos. Rocket kneels down at the sliced off Infinity Gauntlet, and turned it over. But when he did, he and everyone else got the second biggest shock of their lives. In the compartments where the Stones once laid, there was nothing!

The "raccoon" stood and with a disbelieving face, looked at the other. "Oh no."

"Where are they?" Peter asked, staring madly at the immobilized Mad Titan.

Sam tightened the grip of his arm around Thanos' neck to make him comply. "Answer the question!" He growled. "While you still can!"

Finally, he spoke. "The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose...beyond temptation."

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce blurted, the Hulkbuster pushing him angrily to the ground behind him.

Thanos began to slowly pick himself back up, taking his time as he only had made me hand now. "You should be grateful." He stated before being punched by the HulkBuster.

"Where are the Stones?!" Okoye asked venomously.

"Gone. Reduced to atoms."

"You used them two days ago!" Bruce retorted.

"I used the stones to **destroy** the stones. It nearly killed me...But the work is done, and it always will be." He sat himself up a little straighter. "I am... inevitable."

There was a silence. All of them were stunned at this. This couldn't be happening!

"But, but," Korg tried to speak as he and Miek exchanged looks of confusion and disbelief. "..but that would mean-"

"No! No, we...we have to tear this place apart, he-he-he has to be lying." Rhodey said, slightly beginning to hyperventilate.

Nebula, however, knew otherwise. "My father is many things. A liar is not one of them."

"Ah, thank you, daughter." Nebula stiffened at hearing that. It didn't have the good feeling she thought it would years ago. Now it just made her feel uncomfortable to hear. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly."

That's all he could say before a rage-filled Valkyrie raised Stormbreaker, and brought it down, decapitating the Mad Titan. His limp body fell to the floor. Nebula reaches up to her face and felt a few drops of blood that had landed on her cheek.

Everyone in the room had fell silent at the sight. They definitely didn't expect that. They were beyond shocked.

"What...what did you do?" Rocket asked, his breathe not fully there.

Valkyrie's angered face slowly began to unfurl, deep breaths taken as she calmed, fully aware of what she had just done.

"I went for the head." She said, recalling what Rhodey, Bruce and Rocket had said the late Thanos had told Thor on the day of the Snap.

She dropped the Axe and walked out of the shack, leaving everyone there speechless as to what had just happened...and what this meant.

* * *

**Ok...got that part done. I hope y'all enjoyed that revised version of that scene. It was a little hard with the new characters and finding where to place them, but it all worked out in the end.**

**Um, for those of you who haven't heard or didn't see my announcement, we lost a good man. The Marvel fan base lost a King. Chadwick Boseman, our Black Panther.**

**The news shook me so hard that uh...I wasn't sure if I should continue writing this story...it hit me that hard...I honestly don't know if I can...I could try, but...I don't know. I leave it up to y'all if you want to see this story continued and completed...and whatever it is, I guess we'll see what happens...**

**Later, Marvel Fans.**


	21. The Truth That Hurts

*****New Avengers Facility*****

Long. That's how it seemed. The walk out and from the ship into the Compound. But that was mainly because that, for them, time had slowed down. And that was because of the...the events that had happened within the past hour...Said events left a gaping hole in their hearts as terrible news had come with it.

The Infinity Stones, the instruments that had helped the Mad Titan, Thanos, or rather, the late Mad Titan eliminate half of life across the whole universe, were now gone. Destroyed. Meaning that the friend that they had lost...that everyone had lost...were gone...for good.

That was bad enough. Now, they had another task. And this one might be harder and more crushing than the last.

* * *

*****Living Room*****

They all sat in silence, mortified and unsure of what to do now. Pepper, Betty, Erik and Darcy had joined them in their moment of silence and sorrow.

Pepper's hormones were already out of flux due to her pregnancy, but this...the news that those lost in the Snap, including Tony...weren't coming back. Now, they all had to wonder what they were going do now that their second chance fell through.

Peter, sadly, knew one hard thing that he had to do. And he knew it would kill him.

"Where're the kids?" He asked.

Everyone's head came up at the sound of those words. The mere thought of it choked them.

"Uh, they're...having a nap." Darcy answered. "Why?"

Peter was about to say when Bruce, who had the same thought, cut in. "I think it's time we tell them."

Throughout the room, everyone's heart dropped when he said that. It was something that they knew would come, but they kept putting it off. And when this "chance" came up, they though it they wouldn't have to. But now...there was no other option.

It was time.

* * *

*****Jamie and ** **Nikki's Room*****

Peter, now out of his Iron Spider Suit and in a hoodie and some jeans, slowly opened the door to the Twins'

"Peter?"

"Hey buddy. Sleep well?"

The five-year-old yawned as he rubbed his eyes as he begin to fully awaken. "Mmhmm."

"Good, good. That's-that's good...Hey uh, can you...come with me? There's something we wanna show you. Your sister and your friends too actually."

At first, Jamie didn't understand on account of him not being fully awake. But then his eyes shot open and an excited expression came to his face as he jumped up out of bed. "Is it about my parents?"

"Uh...well, yeah."

That was all Peter was able to get out before Jamie climbed up to the second bunk and shook his sister awake. "Nikki! Wake up!"

His blonde sister groaned as she opened her eyes to her brother, unhappy from having her nap interrupted. "What, Jamie?!"

"Mommy and Daddy are back!"

That made the sleep in Nikki's eyes vanish quickly as she jumped up and followed him down their bunk ladder before jumping off and waking Azari while Jamie woke up Torunn.

"Come on, Z!" She exclaimed, shaking her Wakandan friend from his slumber. "Our parents are back!"

"Really?!" He gasped excitedly, jumping up from his sleeping bag.

"Let's go!" Jamie cheered, motioning for them to follow him. Soon the four kids were out of the room and running down the hall.

"Guys, wait!" Peter called after them. He didn't feel so goo since he didn't even have a chance to speak. They were already gone. "Oh boy, this is gonna be bad."

He scratched his head in grief as before taking off after them.

* * *

*****Living Room*****

The adults all still sat in silence and sorrow. But that was broken by the sounds of excited children running down the hall.

"Mom! Dad!" They heard. Their hearts stopped at the sound of the kids nearing.

Within seconds, the four children stormed into the room and stopped. The excited looks on their faces were replaced with looks of confusion, whereas the adults were all speechless and wide eyed.

Korg nervously greeted the kids, "Uh...Hey guys," waving at them.

"Hey Korg!" Jamie waved back. He and the other four looked around the room, but seemed. "Where are they?"

"Who, sweetie?" Pepper asked, beyond confused.

"Our parents!" Torunn replied, like a child awaiting a present.

Pepper felt the air leave her lungs as her speechlessness came back. She looked over to Rhodey and Bruce, but the two looked back at her with no idea what to say.

Suddenly, Peter ran in. Panting as he skidded to a halt. He really misjudged the speed of these kids. "Guys!"

"Peter, what-" Rhodey began to ask, motioning to the quartet of kids in the room.

But the spider-teen shrugged his shoulder and shook his head, ashamed. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't get to tell them. They ran out before I could."

As they spoke, the kids still heard them and were confused as to what the grownups and Peter were referring to.

"Tell us what?" Azari asked, speaking up for him and his friends.

The silence in the room returned as the adults all looked at each other. They all did things to accommodate their shook nerves. Darcy took off her glasses and let out a big sigh, while Erik and Rhodey rubbed their faces and sighed loudly.

This couldn't be avoided any longer, and they knew it.

"Have a seat, guys." Bruce said, motioning to a couch. "This is uh...there's something we have to tell you."

"What is it?" Torunn asked as they all sat down.

All four kids sat down on a couch and some of the adults sat with them to comfort them. Okoye held Azari with her arm around his shoulder and Darcy held Torunn in her lap.

It took a minute or two for them to form words as the adults tried to mentally prepare themselves to release this news.

"You see," Bruce began "...we haven't been completely honest with you kids about your parents."

"But, I thought you were going to get them?" Jamie inquired.

"Uh, yeah. We-we-we did. But things didn't exactly go as we thought...you see, we went because there was a chance to get them back. And...um..."

Rhodey began where Bruce trailed off. "Your parents were caught in something that happened all over the Earth...they uh..." Unfortunately, the colonel couldn't continue. He couldn't be the one to do it.

It was crazy too, because he was in the army. Telling people that their family members had died in battle, unfortunately, came with the occupation. But this...this was different. These were kids. Five-year-olds, and they had to be told the sad fate of their parents. But he couldn't do it...he couldn't.

"They're gone..." Peter finished for him, on the edge with tears.

"..to catch the bad guy, right?" Nikki added, testing her suspicions of the previous day.

"No, sweetie" Betty said, shaking her head slightly, tears threatening to fall. "...I...they're gone as in...they're not coming back."

Jamie scrunched his eyebrows as the realization began to slowly make sense in his mind. "They're gone?" he asked, unbelievingly.

He looked right at Peter, right in the eyes, searching for truth. But he received his answer when Peter nodded and a tear escapes his eye. Jamie's eyes mirrored his as tears began to pool in them as it all sunk in. His parents were gone. They were really gone. He looked over to Nikki, who had already begun crying and was in Betty's arms, crying into her shoulder.

Torunn, on the other hand, shook her head, not wanting to accept this and began to breathe heavily. Then without a word, she jumped out of Darcy's lap and bolted outside.

Jamie saw this and jumped up, running after her, not too far behind.

"Torunn! Wait!" He called before he ran after her.

Darcy was about to follow them, but she was held back by Erik. He shook his head as a sign to let her go grieve. It didn't take long before she retreated into Erik's arms and cried herself.

"Ingaba yinyani?" Azari asked, looking up to Okoye, his eyes pleading for it to not be true. "They're gone?"

Breaking her warrior façade, the general let her tears come out and slowly nodded in reply.

Azari's tears came as well as he fearfully asked the next words, "...Mama too?"

Okoye couldn't bring herself to nod or form words, all she could do was gulp severely. The little prince needed no more conviction as he shut his eyes in anguish and hugged Okoye with all his might, and she too returned the hug as well.

* * *

*****Courtyard*****

The young Asgardian girl ran out of the Compound and into the courtyard a ways before she finally dropped to her knees and cut loose crying.

"No. No," She whimpered. She tried to restrain herself, but she just couldn't hold it.

As her tears were threatening to come down. Thunder clapped as dark clouds began to fill the sky. It grew dark and the thunder still came.

"Torunn!" She heard James call out from behind her.

She kept her head down and was leaning over on her hands with them gripping the grass. Soon, she felt a hand on her back, knowing it was Jamie, kept her head down and shook it as she began to cry.

"Torunn?"

"Jamie, it can't be true." She said, looking up at her redheaded friend, "He can't be gone. I was supposed to meet him. Like Mommy said I would! It can't be true!"

Jamie sniffled as he heard her try to deny what they had just heard inside no more than two minutes ago. It was a hard, hurtful truth. But it was the truth nonetheless.

"I'm sorry, Torrun...but it is."

Torunn looked back down to the ground before bringing her hands up to her head and whispered to herself. "No! NO! Nononono. No...NOOOO!...Daddy...no. Please no...It can't be true. It can't be! It CAN'T BE!"

And then, taking in a deep breath, Torunn let out huge scream that echoed throughout the darkening sky. As she did, lighting crackled and came down to the ground around them.

Jamie looked around in both fright and shock as the huge streams of glowing, jagged electricity made contact with the ground around them. On instinct, he jumped onto Torunn and protectively covered her.

"Jamie! Torunn!" Peter called out worriedly as he began to run out into the courtyard to them.

"Peter!" Bruce and Pepper called after him.

But the spider-teen only made it halfway before a bolt of lightning came down and hit the ground right in front of him, the impact force pushing him backwards onto his back.

As he landed, a sharp ringing made its way to his ear as the noise around him seemed to be muffled. He brought his hands to his ears and winced at the ringing. The feeling of being cradled came as he opened his eyes and saw a blurry view of two figures above him.

Suddenly, he began to hear muffled voices yelling. They were coming from the blurry figures. Then, the ringing began to die down. As did the blurriness of his vision. Next thing he knew, his vision and hearing came back in full effect.

"Pete, come on!" one of the people above him, which turned out to be Rhodey, exclaimed.

With the help of Bruce, who was right there with them, they helped Peter up to his feet before they all ran towards the building and the overhead covering where Pepper was waiting for them. Once they were at safety, they looked back over to the two kids as the screaming and the lightning stopped altogether and rain began to fall.

With Jamie and Torunn, the redheaded boy was now crying fully himself, now had her in a hug and she hugged him tightly. Tears came down hard from her eyes as she cried into his shoulder. As they did, the rain around them came down a bit herder, mirroring he tears.

Peter let his head down and fell to his knees and held his head in his hands, saddened at the sight of the two kids in the courtyard. Bruce and Rhodey were saddened by it as well. And like the kids and Peter, they let tears, which they had been holding back for a long time, flow fully from their sockets.

* * *

Back inside, the others were crying as well. Having watched the events outside, combined with the events of the past month, they all wept without shame, finally letting all of their pent up emotion go. And though it felt good to let it all out, it was still hurt, especially for the kids, to accept it. But sometimes, the truth hurts.

* * *

**Well...I finally did it. The kids now know the fate of their parents and we have now scene their reactions to it. This was a hard one to write because I didn't want to rush it. But I do hope that it was good enough for you guys to believe. **

**I'm sure it goes without saying, but I've decided to continue this story. I wanna finish what I started and keep up despite the harsh loss. So yeah, I'm doing it. **

**Anyway, til next chapter, y'all. ;)**


	22. Ten Years Later(2028)

The year is 2028, ten years since the Snap. The world isn't as bright, more gloomy now. And those that were kids then, are now grown up.

* * *

_"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-"_

The sound of alarm clock was turned off as the person laid there, trying to gain the strength to get up.

His eyes slowly began to open from sleep. Only opening halfway, they blinked a few times before they were rubbed by hands that eventually went into a head of thick red hair.

The boy groaned as he took in a deep breath before letting out a sigh. He reached over and turned on the lamp, immediately illuminating the dark bedroom.

It also shed some light on a picture that sat on the bedside table right next to the lamp.

In the picture was a family of four individuals. Two parents, a father and a mother, and two babies, a boy and a girl. The father was well built and had blondish-brown hair. The mother was a beautiful figure with long, curly red hair. Their children favored them, but in an opposite way. The son's hair was as red as his mother's and his eyes were blue like his father's, whereas the daughter had her father's blonde hair and blue eyes as well, but they had a light hint of green from the mother's.

The parents were none other than Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, and in there arms were Jamie and Nikki.

"Hey Mom, Dad...miss you guys..." the boy said as he stood from his bed and walked into his bathroom.

He turned the light on and looked into the mirror at himself. A semi-tall, athletically toned, fit looking young man with a full head of luscious red hair.

That young man is Jamie Rogers.

* * *

*****Kitchen*****

Before Jamie stepped into the lounge room that connected to the kitchen, the faint sound of Shawn Mendes music echoed throughout the halls.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes as he knew exactly who was in there. "Nikki." He said to himself with a knowing smile.

He walked in to see a young girl, about his age, bobbing her head to 'Stitches' which was playing on her phone.

Once again, he shook his head at the sight of her. But what else could he do? That was his sister.

And just like him, Nikki had turned into quite the young lady. Even though she was only fifteen, she had grown up to a good 5' 2" height with beautiful with blonde hair with red ends. The blonde part was natural, from her father. But when she turned ten, Nikki wanted to have some significant similarity between her and her mother. So she dyed her ends a nice red, just like her mother.

He continued the rest of the way and went for the refrigerator. Nikki saw this in her peripheral vision and smiled as she reached for her phone and paused her song.

"Morning!" She greeted.

"Hey." Her brother replied, "Didn't think you'd be able to come down from your 'Shawn Mendes' high to notice I was here."

"Oh, shut up!"

"Weirdo." Jamie said as he retrieved a jug of orange juice and a box of donuts from the fridge.

"Maneken." _(Dummy.)_ She retorted in Russian with a smirk.

Well, that won. The two siblings laughed at their squabble and continued their work to get breakfast.

Jamie opened the thin box and pulled out a donut, but not just any donut...

A red, white, and blue sprinkles donut. And not just any red, white, and blue sprinkles donut. The LAST red, white, and blue sprinkles donut of that dozen. And Jamie was going to enjoy every morsel.

But no sooner than he picked it up and brought it to his lips...

_[THWIP]_

...a long, white, sticky line stuck to the donut before yanking it from Jamie's hand, sending it flying across the room before being caught by a hand. A hand of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man himself, Peter Parker.

"MmmMmm, that's good!" He said, taking a big bite of it. "Thanks Jamie!"

"Awww, come on, Pete! That was the last one!" Jamie threw his hands up in disbelief and displeasure.

"All is fair in love and war, buddy!"

Nikki laughed at that while Jamie shook his head and just picked up a regular glazed and took a bite of it. He was really looking forward to eating that donut, but he could always get another one.

With his mouth full of donut, Peter walked the rest of the way in and sat on a counter stool, joining the twins.

They were very close, these three. Especially Peter and Jamie. Now that they were older, Jamie was now 5' 8", the same height as Peter. Jamie really considered Peter his best friend, and Peter accepted that and returned the sentiment. They would have some fun times together, Be it movies or discussing powers and whatnot, they would have fun.

"Is it time for you to go?" Nikki asked.

"Yep." Peter replied, finishing his donut, "You guys wanna walk out with me?"

The twins nodded and followed their older friend out, but not before Jamie snagged one of Nikki's slices of toast.

"HEY!" she exclaimed.

"V lyubvi i na voyne vse khorosho, sestra."_ (All is fair in love and war, sister!)_ Jamie stated, taking a bite with a closed lip smile.

* * *

*****Courtyard, Driveway*****

Peter was going to visit Pepper Potts and her daughter, Morgan. Yes, daughter. Within the past ten years, Pepper had received one last gift from Tony...a baby. And Peter had been there the majority of the way with raising her. Now, she was seven years old, and loved Peter to death. He loved her too, she was his little sister, and he her big brother.

They had a lot of good times together. Movie nights, lightsaber duels, LEGO building sessions, and cosplay, just to name a few. It goes without saying that they were really close. Just like he was with Ned.

So now, Peter was going to go and stay with them for a bit. It had been a while since he'd gone to visit and Morgan was dying to see him in person again. Sure, the video calls and virtual playdates were fun, but Morgan really missed him. So Pepper arranged it to where he could come and stay with them.

With everything he'd need packed and ready to go, Peter closed the trunk the car, which was actually his aunt May's old car. When the Snap happened, no one was there to claim it. But Peter found it and took possession of it. It was nice to have something other than pictures and home videos to remember her by. The memories that came with the car too were something...Peter was happy to take care of it too.

Stepping in, he started the car and stood up out from the car to wish the Twins goodbye.

"How long are you gonna be gone for?" Jamie asked him, having gotten another donut a regular glazed, for himself.

"Just the weekend." He replied, "But don't worry. You guys'll be ok. Betty's here and Bruce is...around."

Bruce had been closed himself up in his lab for almost nineteen months, and no one but his young assistant, who was relieved of duty when Bruce had completed his experiment a month ago, had seen him since. He said that this past month was the to test it before he revealed it. But he was still, as Peter said, around.

Nikki nodded and sniffled lightly. "Well, we're gonna miss you, Peter."

"Aww, I'm gonna miss you too, Nikki." He pulled her into a hug, which she returned immediately.

They held the hug a little longer before breaking it up.

"Give Morgan a hug for us." Jamie added.

"Oh, I don't think there'll be any problem there."

Peter and Jamie both laughed at that before hugging each other. Nikki smiled at the sight of the two hugging. Sometimes, she would join in and turn it into a little group hug, but she also liked to watch the two have their brotherly moments.

Finally breaking the hug, Peter patted Jamie's shoulder and nodded to Nikki before getting into the car all the way.

As he began to pull off, the Twins watched as drove off, sticking his hand of out of the window and waving back at them. They waved back as he neared the gate and drove out.

They then headed back inside and finished breakfast before Jamie had to head for work and Nikki, her daily routine.

But as they continued on, that empty feeling that had been pitted deep within them throughout the years threatened to come out once again.

* * *

**Well, that's that! This may be the 22nd chapter, but that's the first chapter of seeing Teen Jamie and Nikki, and Young Adult Peter. And I hope you guys enjoyed this first peek at them now. Btw, that Romanogers family picture is from lbs29/Seize The Day on Tumblr. Go check them out, great Romanogers content there.**

**Thank you guys for making those for my friend thegraytigress. Hope she's ok, wherever she is.**

**The next chapter is gonna be a major push and a minor gap filler. So stay tuned for that. Hope you guys are still with me even though it's taken a bit to update. But don't worry, it's still going. Not stopping this.**

**So stick around and I'll see you guys next time. Later!**


	23. Not Us

**Hey guys. I know it's been a whole month since I've updated, but I hope this chapter and it's length make up for it. Enjoy...**

**TRIGGER WARNING: Constant PTSD Attacks.**

* * *

After breakfast, Jamie had left for work and Nikki was left alone.

Which wasn't so bad, except she didn't really like being alone. The mere thought of being alone caused a sharp feeling of emptiness in her heart and would take her breath away. But she tried not to think about the negative too much, it would soon do that on its own...and with a vengeance too.

She moved on and commenced with her studies. That lasted about two hours or so. And it was good because it took her mind off of being alone as she had focused on it. Bruce had always done a good job of laying out a good study session for Nikki to complete, which she always did.

Now that she was done, she took her books and her notepad and went to her and Jamie's room. Yes, even after all these years, the two twins still shared a room. They were still close, and it helped when Nikki would have her...attacks.

Anyway, one she got there, she set her books down and sat herself down at her vanity. Sitting all the way back and letting out a good long sigh, she let her smoking brain cells cool down as she began to relax.

As she relaxed, she immediately took note of the family picture lodged in between the vanity mirror and it's frame. The vanity had faded stickers all over it. Some of castles, tiaras, and other of Disney Princesses. The vanity was full of them while it itself was pink. Nikki liked pink, it was a secret favorite color of hers. That was one thing she kept quiet. A few people knew though, those closest to her like Jamie and Peter. Bruce and Betty knew too. But other than them, nobody knew. Nobody except...except her parents.

Looking back to the family in the mirror, Nikki's heart began to race and she began to see flashes. Suddenly, her thoughts drifted into the past. When she was a toddler and her mother was always with her...

Nikki breathed deeply and and gulped hard as the memories of the past came back clearer than a window.

* * *

_(Flashback)_

**TWELVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO**

*****Rogers Residence*****

_The wedding was great. Tony and Pepper finally tying the knot was a great occasion to witness, and the reception too was a real hoot and a half. But now, it was night and everyone was tired. Not as much as Jamie and Nikki though, who were currently knocked out._

_Natasha was taking Nikki to her room and Steve doing the same with James._

_It was remarkable the skills one picked up as a parent, and it was even more shocking how well some of her expertise as a spy translated into her life now. Again, soft, unobtrusive movements were key as she laid Nikki on her little bed. Efficiently she stripped the little girl of her sandals and her sundress before pulling a nightgown from her (overly well-stocked) armoire. Staring at Nikki's tiny body, she thought better of letting her sleep without a pull-up diaper on, so she grabbed one from the changing table and carefully worked her little panties down and the pull-up up. Then she put the nightgown on her. Somehow through all that, she stayed sleeping (thank God). She lifted Nikki against her so she could pull the covers back on her bed. After laying her back down, she tucked her in. She planted a soft kiss on Nikki's forehead, smoothing back the mussed blonde hair, before turning to go._

_"Mama?"_

_Natasha didn't know if she wanted to cringe or smile. She'd hardly made it a couple of steps away from the bed. "What?" she answered._

_Nikki was staring sleepily at her. "Is the party over?" she asked, rubbing at her eyes._

_Natasha came back to her bedside, crouching beside it. "Yeah," she whispered. "It's over."_

_"Now what happens?"_

_She thought about that a moment before she figured out what to say. It wasn't too hard to come_  
_up with something. Nikki's room was so pink and pretty, and there were princess dolls and princess things and princess books everywhere. That wasn't something Natasha much liked (or something in which she believed), but even she had to admit there was allure in fantasies and fairy tales. "Well, it's like in the stories. Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper are married now. So they'll live happily ever after."_

_"Just like you and Daddy?"_

_It always took her aback, how perceptive and mature Nikki was. Natasha smiled softly. "Yeah."_

_She brushed her hair back a bit more before trailing her fingers lightly down her face. "Just like Daddy and me." Nikki smiled. Natasha kissed her again. "Spokoynoy nochi, Nika."_

_"Spokoynoy nochi, Mama," she replied. She was asleep before Natasha left the room._

_(End Of Flashback)_

* * *

Tears came down violently as Nikki sniffled and held that picture close to her heart. The same heart that felt as thought it was being stabbed. The same heart the felt like there was a big gaping hole in it.

Looking back at the picture, her eyes burned with more tears as she looked at her parents.

"Oh Mom..." she whimpered, "...I miss you so much!"

She jammed her eyes shut and stifled a scream, doing her best not to. Every time she thought of her parents, even the good thoughts, that same feeling would come around. But what soon followed was more deadly.

It was coming. Nikki could feel it, closer and closer. And it was going to be bad. Before she knew it, her hands began to shake, then her heartbeat sped up. Immediately, she began to try and fight it with what she had learned.

Deep breaths. Deeeeep breathes. In through the nose, out through the nose. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

That's what Nikki always did when her attacks would come on. Sometimes it would work, but sometimes it didn't.

There was one other thing she could do though to ease her pain. Thinking it would help get her mind off of the pain and calm her down, she decided to go through with it.

The one thing that always seemed to soother her nerves and elevate them at the same time.

Training.

* * *

Nikki stood firmly at the end of the Compound's firing range in a sports bra and yoga pants with a black leg rig strapped to her thigh.

She held her gun, a Glock 17 aimed at a target that was at least twenty-five feet away. With her finger on the trigger, she took a few deep breaths. And then...

[BANG! BANG! BANG x2...BANG x7]

As she fired away at the target at the end of the range, she never blinked. Not for one second. With every shot, the more red tinted her vision.

Nikki then began walking down the range toward the target, never stopping as she did. Even when the clip was gone, she didn't stop. With the hand that was holding the handle of the Glock, she ejected the empty clip, reached down to the leg rig and pulled out another clip, popped it in, cocked it and continued firing.

She kept this up for another forty-five minutes, never breaking a sweat.

There was no doubt, she was her mother's daughter.

* * *

It started with simple stuff. Punches, jabs, and the occasional foot or knee.

This was how Nikki always began her training with the punching bag. The more she did it, however, the more intense her punches became.

Left. Left. Right. Left. Right. Right. Each punch harder than the last. And with every punch, another painful memory punched back in her mind.

That terrible footage. Her mother and father fading into ash. Her mother saying her name in Russian. _Nika. Nika. Nika._

It echoed in her brain over and over until finally she screamed and gave one final good bash so hard that the bag's chain broke and the bag fell from the stand.

Nikki stood there, chest heaving and fists clinched hard. As she came down from her angered high, she began to feel the tears coming up.

* * *

*****Bathroom*****

The tears mixed in with the hot water from the shower.

It helped a bit as it hit Nikki's skin and gave her somewhat of a warm, relaxing feeling. Her hands were up against the wall, her breathing heavy as she still fought to keep this attack from taking over. But unfortunately, this one wasn't going to be beat.

Nikki's hand began to shake against the wall. Then her arms. As she felt her start to shake, she already knew what was coming.

As quickly as she could, she reached out of the shower and pressed a button on the wall before her legs gave out and she fell into the bathtub. Tears came profusely, once again mixing with the water that was still coming down on her from on high.

Nikki's breathing and heartbeat increased immensely as the horrid images of her nightmares came one after the other. Her mother's voice calling her, the sight of her parent's dead with the rest of the Avengers. This brought a painful feeling to Nikk's brain, her stomach and her heart. It became too much to try and hold that she let out a loud blood-curdling scream.

It filled the whole room and threatened to crack the steamy mirror on the other side of the curtain.

"NIKKI!" someone called to her.

The shower curtain was suddenly pulled back to show a concerned Betty who looked down and saw the poor girl.

"Nikki!" She exclaimed. She turned off the water, grabbed the towel from the counter and wrapped Nikki up in it before pulling her into a protective hug. "Shhhh. Shhshhshhshh. It's ok, it's ok. I've got you, Nikki. You're alright now."

Nikki had immediately returned the hug, leaning into Betty. Her tears gradually subsided as she began to calm down, but they were still coming. But she was just happy Betty was there and that she wasn't alone.

"Thank you, Betty." she sniffled.

"I'm here, sweetheart." Betty cooed, "...I'm here."

And Betty always had been there. Though she wasn't their real mother, she always consoled and loved the kids as her own. And she knew about stress and anxiety too. So it hurt her to see Nikki going through that, plus PTSD. But she was more than happy to help her with it.

Betty didn't move as she held her "niece" close. Nikki did the same as she cried into Betty's shoulder, holding onto her tight like a life preserver.

They stayed in their current position for who knows how long, the faint cries of Nikki being the only sound in the room.

* * *

*****New York, Brooklyn Support Group*****

If you've ever seen one of those ghost towns from old western movies, you'd swear that New York was one of them. If not the whole world.

Oh sure, there were people there, but they weren't nearly as lively as they used to be years ago.

Nowadays, a lot of people had become introverted. Not wanting to go out as much, if at all.

And some of them, if not a lot, needed therapy. And that's what Jamie's job was. Working as a mentor/volunteer at a support group. Sure it was part time, but it made him feel better. He helped people, just like his father. Well, maybe not just like his father, but it was something like it.

Right now, Jamie sat on a chair in a circle with a few other people. It had been almost an hour now, but no one really cared. Currently, this one man named Joe was talking about his date that he had just had the previous night, how it went, and that a second date was going to happen.

"That's great." Jamie said to Joe. "You did the hardest part. You took the jump, you didn't know where you were gonna come down."

Joe nodded and thanked Jamie for that. It's true, he was nervous. Nervous about moving on, as were they all.

"Ya know, those little brave baby steps we gotta take, it's not so easy to do it. But we have to take them. To try and become whole again, try and find purpose...a reason for living...it helps in the long run..."

"Has it worked for you?" A lady named Millie, shyly asked.

Jamie was taken aback by that question. He knew that the group would occasionally ask him questions, but he certainly didn't expect that one.

But he didn't brush it off. Instead, he thought about it. Giving it some good thought, he gave his best honest answer. "I don't know yet." He shrugged.

Millie nodded, shrinking back a little, fearing she may have stepped over a boundary. "Sorry."

"No, no! It's ok. I just, heh, I guess I never really thought about it much..."

"Can't burry your hurt or your emotions," another lady, Sandra, added, "Not forever anyway."

The whole group nodded at that, as did Jamie. He knew that was true. And he didn't like bottling up his emotions...but he didn't exactly like to them out either. Not often.

"Yeah...I know...When I, uh...when I found out my parents were dead, that was the worse day of my life. For me and my sister, really... It's taken it's toll on me, but she's caught the worst of it...Believe me when I tell you, it's hard to at first, but you gotta move on. Gotta to move on. Can't harp on it forever, even though you might like to...and that's where we have to be strong. The world is in our hands. It's left to us guys, and we got to do something with it. Otherwise...Thanos should have killed all of us."

The others in the room nodded in silent agreement. They knew Jamie was right, they had to move on...

"If you don't mind me saying," another one of them, a man in his late 40s named Ernest chirped, "You're a lot like you're father."

That made Jamie smile and shake his head. He was about to respectfully object, but before he could, Ernest cut him off.

"No, I mean it. Respectful, uplifting, kind,

"Rugged good looks," one of the ladies there added. Everyone else agreed with that too, laughing a bit.

Now that really made Jamie crack up. He knew he had some resemblance to his father, but hearing that part of it was something new.

"She's right," Joe said. "But most of all, you're a good man."

And that made Jamie freeze. 'A good man.' He'd heard that said about his father before, and he also remembered wanting to grow up to be like him. Not just a superhero, but a good man too. Maybe he had, but never noticed it. Maybe he needed someone else to point it out. Whatever that case was, he was happy...and humbled to hear that.

"Thank you.." he replied, a few tears coming up. "All of you..."

They all continued to sit there in silence until the next person spoke up.

* * *

*****Common Room*****

After her "shower", Nikki had gotten into some comfortable clothes and made a snack with Betty. For Betty, it was a fruit cocktail. Which she took to her room so she could rest afterwards. For Nikki, it was her favorite: Peanut Butter and banana sandwich.

She took that to the common room where she had to jump into an important weekly meeting.

_"Yeah, we boarded that highly suspect warship Sammy pinged." Rocket said, giving a mission report._

In front of the table where Nikki sat were four holographic projectors which broadcasted live bodies of the people on the other end of the calls.

Nebula and Rocket Raccoon, Okoye, a now grown up, twenty-two year old Sam Alexander, and Rhodey.

_"It was an infectious garbage scowl."_ Nebula added to Rocket's previous statement.

_"So, thanks for the hot tip."_

Rocket and Nebula looked over to Sam with scowls that could match that of a hangry person.

But Sam simply shrugged his shoulders. _"Well, you were closer."_

_"Yeah. And now we smell like garbage."_ Rocket retorted.

_"You should like that though, Rock." _Rhodey jumped in._ "Cause I'm pretty sure I've seen you sneak into the dumpsters here at the Compound."_

Nikki couldn't help but laugh at that, As did Okoye, but she tried to hold it back.

Seeing this just made Rocket shake his head in annoyance.

After the laughter died down, Nikki gathered herself and turned to Okoye and asked her about anomalies near them. "Uh, Okoye. You get a reading on those tremors?

_"It was a mild subduction under the African plate." _The Wakandan general replied.

"Alright. So are we handling it?

_"Nikki, it's an earthquake under the ocean. We handle it by not handling it."_

"Oh...right...uh Sam, are we gonna see you here next week?"

_"Yeah, I think so."_ The young Hispanic replied with a nod. _"Everything's been pretty peaceful here so far, and I've got leave coming up. So I should see you guys in a few days or so."_

_"You gonna have a new haircut?"_ Rocket interjected jokingly.

Since he'd turned twenty-one, Sam had changed his hairstyle from long locks, into a short, faded side look.

It was different from what they were all used to at the time, but they got used to it, and Sam liked it. And Rocket just had to mess with the kid sometimes.

_"No, but I can bring back some clippers so you can try it."_ Sam teased back.

But joke or no, Rocket wasn't with it. _"Nah, nah, nah! I'm-I'm good!"_

After that, Nikki took the helm. With no more business to discuss, she went ahead and ended the meeting. "Alright. Uh, well. This channel is always active. So, if anything goes sideways... anyone's making trouble where they shouldn't... comes through me."

They all nodded in agreement before saying their goodbyes and the projectors went off one by one. Soon they were all gone. Except for Rhodey who had stayed behind.

Only Nikki hadn't seen him. She has slumped back into a chair behind her and let out an exhausted sigh before looking up and noticing Rhodey was still there.

"Where are you?" She asked.

_"Mexico."_ He immediately replied,_ "The Federales found a room full of bodies. Looks like a bunch of cartel guys. Never even had the chance to get their guns off."_

"It's probably a rival gang."

_"Except it isn't."_ Rhodey said knowingly.

Nikki took a breath as she knew who and what Rhodey was talking about. "...Frankie?"

_"It's definitely him. What he's done here, what he's been doing for the last few years... I mean, the scene that he left... I gotta tell you, there's a part of me that doesn't even want to find him."_

There was just dead silence after that as Nikki processed the details Rhodey just gave. She knew that her friend, her "cousin", Francis "Frankie" Barton had gone missing not long after he was twelve. Ducking and dodging the law, crossing state after state... until he turned fifteen, appearing in other countries and toppling criminal organizations. Picking them off one by one. Driven by rage, loss, and love, he had become a ronin.

But that didn't matter to Nikki. Or Jamie either. They missed Frankie and they wanted to bring him home.

Stifling some tears best she could, Nikki took a bite of her sandwich before asking, "Will you find out where he's going next?"

_"Nikki..."_ he tried.

"-Please."

Rhodey looked at Nikki and still saw that small adorable toddler at Tony's wedding all those years ago. Had she asked for anything, he never would have said no to her back then...and he couldn't do it now with this situation. So reluctantly, he agreed. _"Okay."_

He nodded to her before finally, cutting off his call.

Once he was gone, Nikki closed her eyes and held back tears she could feel coming up once again. "Please, not again." She whispered to herself.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. In, out. In, out...calm.

"Ya know, if tell you a joke to try and cheer you up," a familiar voice started. Nikki looked up and saw her brother, Jamie leaning against a wall with a bit of a smirk. "But uh...looks like you're already miserable."

Nikki snorted and rolled her eyes at that as he walked over to the table.

"You just get back?" She asked.

"Yep. Long day. Now, I'm just checking in on my little sister."

That earned Jamie a raised eyebrow and a smirk from Nikki. "I don't know about little, but clearly, your TWIN sister is fine."

Jamie snickered at that, nodding at it too. "Ya know, I saw a pod of whales today."

"Really?"

"Yeah, in the Hudson! Fewer ships, cleaner waters."

"Ya know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side like Dad would, them I'm about to _beat_you with a peanut butter and banana sandwich."

Jamie caught himself at that. "Sorry. It it's a force of habit." He plopped down into a seat opposite her on the other side and let out a sigh.

"Nah, you're good." Nikki reassures him. "Besides you can't help the fact that you're basically the younger version of him."

"Ha, thanks!"

"Don't let it go to your head."

"Where's Betty?"

"Taking a nap."

After the events earlier today, Nikki wasn't surprised that Betty needed a nap. After dealing with her and her messed up self, Nikki would want to rest her nerves too.

"You good?" Jamie asked her, pulling her from her thoughts.

Nikki came back to reality and nodded a bit quickly than normal. "Yeah, I'm fine."

But Jamie knew better than that, and he knew HER too.

"You know that's not what I mean."

Nikki sighed loudly as she gathered her thoughts. She knew exactly what Jamie meant, but she wanted to avoid it...but she knew it couldn't be avoided forever.

"...struggling." She finally answered.

"How bad was it?"

"...really bad...terrible. Betty helped me out and saved me again."

Jamie felt a sting from hearing that. Not from Betty being there for her. He loved Betty like an aunt, but he wished he could have been there for Nikki as well.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"It's ok."

"No, it's not!" He fires back. "I'm your brother, Nikki! But what kind of brother am I if I can't be there for you when you have an attack?!"

"You've gotta stop."

"Stop what?"

"Carrying the world on your shoulders."

That made Jamie stop and think. And as he did, he realized she wasn't wrong. He did really try to help every person he could when given the chance and he didn't give up easily either. And it wasn't easy to do so...but that didn't make him stop.

"You're right...I'm sorry."

"You're good...it's all one big heavy load. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised we've made it this far..."

Once again, Jamie nodded at his sister's words. He was surprised too. If it wasn't for the endurance and hope inside of him, he might've given up a long time ago. And yet, he still had an anchor chained to his heart...him and Nikki both. And as she said, it was one big heavy load.

"You know, it's funny..." He trailef off, thoughts coming to him. "In my therapy sessions, what I say to try and help others. Get them going. I keep telling everybody they should move on and...grow. Some do...but not us.

Nikki felt a mental poke to the stomach at that. She couldn't do that. "If I move on, who does this?" She shrugged.

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done."

"It's one of the few things that keeps me sane and helps me keep my mind off of...

"I know..." Jamie stated, reaching over and grabbing his sister's hand and holding it, "I know..."

"It keeps playing over and over in my head, like some kind of horror movie on repeat. In one day, we lost everything...nothing left. And then we got this...this family. And you, you've always been good and moving. But for me, I was... I was made better because of it. It gave me something to smile about... And even though... they're gone...I'm still trying to be better."

Tears threatened to come out of Jamie's eyes as he listened to his sister vent. He knew exactly what she was going through because he went through it too. Just not as severely as her. But he was proud of her. Proud of how fat she'd come. And he knew their parents...that they would be proud too.

"You been doing better every day, Nikki." He sincerely told her.

That made her smile a bit as she squeezed his hand in return. "Thanks Jamie."

"I think we both need to get a life." Jamie joked again, easing the hurt a little.

"You first, bro." Nikki retorted.

They both laughed at that. The sadness was beginning to ebb away within them as they continued comforting each other.

But that was interrupted by a holoscreen popping and showing a video feed.

_"Oh! Hi. Hi! Is anyone home?" _A voice called out. _"This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."_

"Is this an old message?!" Jamie asked as he stood from his chair, both confused and shocked.

Nikki stood up too, her face equally as shock, but more curious than anything. "It's the front gate!"

* * *

**Man...that was a lot...literally! That' why I took so long to get this chapter going, because I wanted to show Nikki's struggle that she goes through on a daily basis, how she deals with it, Jamie's life and how he and Nikki get by together. And that flashback scene is actually a scene written by thegraytigress herself. One last parting gift, if you will. I figured since this work was inspired partly by her, there should be some of her hard work in here too...Hopefully, she'd like it...And I hope you guys did too.**

**Tbh, it took a lot out of me, but I'm glad I got it done and I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**That cliffhanger at the end tho! Something big is coming. But lmk what you guys thought of it! PLEASE REVIEW AND LMK!**

**Til next chapter!**


	24. Return Of The Ant

_"Oh! Hi. Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."_

"Is this an old message?!" Jamie asked as he stood from his chair, both confused and shocked.

Nikki stood up too, her face equally as shock, but more curious than anything. "It's the front gate!"

(Fade To Black)

* * *

**Three Days Earlier**

* * *

*****San Francisco, U-STORE-It Self Storage*****

You know how sometimes your garage gets too cluttered, loaded down with junk that you probably haven't used in years? It'd be time for a good cleanup. And if there's anything worth saving, either save it or put it in storage. Well, that was the exact opposite of hos things had gone when Thanos happened.

When half of Earth's people died, all of their possessions were left behind. And as the years moved on, they had to be disposed of or moved somewhere else. And the only place that could hold mass amount of personal items were the storage facilities.

However, in San Francisco, a particular was special out of all of them. Inside were multiple storage units that were labeled specifically for each person or family that the items belonged to.

Within one of these storage units which had the name "LANG" labeled on it, amongst all the junk from years ago was a van that sat behind the barrier. But it wasn't just the van that was special, it was also the contents within the van.

Now with any attic-like place with old items, there are bound to be some pests. Well one of the pests in this place were rats. One of them had found its way into the van and rummaged around within it. At one point, it crawled onto a silver panel that had buttons on it. One of them in particular was a start button for machine, a machine within the van's back. That machine was a Quantum Tunnel made by Dr. Hank Pym.

That rat had stepped on that button, starting up the tunnel, which lit up as it powered up.

The sounds of it were getting louder and the power from it was getting stronger. So strong, that something had shot out of the tunnel with so much force, that it busted the backdoors of the van open and landed on some nearby boxes. That something was Scott Lang, the Ant-Man.

He groaned as his helmet flipped back, allowing him to feel and breathe real air for what seemed like forever. A light spark from the mechanisms on his shoulder made him pat the area, hoping that fire wouldn't start. After he cooled it down, he began to sat up until he was leaning back on his arms. It was then that he finally began to realize his surroundings. Obviously, this wasn't where he thought it was.

"What the hell?" He whispered to himself.

He was getting a little worried now as he looks around and immediately became more worried and confused.

"Hope?" He called out. But he received no reply.

* * *

*****Office*****

A security guard is seated at his desk, reading a book to pass the time. As he was reading, he noticed something on the security monitor on his desk. He lowered the book and sat up straight because what he saw shocked him. On the monitor, he saw something, or SOMEONE in one of the storage units. It was Scott! Though there wasn't any sound from the monitor, it could be seen the Scott was shouting for help and holding up a cardboard sign with the word "HELP" written on it.

* * *

Scott, now in a change of casual clothes, walked along and pulled a wagon with a few of the belongings he could take with him from the facility at the time.

As he continued to walk, he slightly looked over his shoulder to see the guard still watching him. Knowing how awkward it was, Scott turned around and kept on walking.

* * *

Scott had walked pretty far to reach his current location. All that time of flowing weightlessly in the Quantum Realm made him glad to walk and get the feel of his legs again.

He had walked all the way back to his old neighborhood. But what he saw was...chilling. The streets were empty. Bags of garbage were everywhere, and every post in the neighborhood was LOADED with MISSING posters. Not only that, some of the houses looked abandoned. A few cars were wrecked, trees and foliage had overgrown their yards. It seemed...partly desolate.

Almost like a post apocalyptic movie where the majority of the population were and a few people left.

Multiple questions were running through Scott's mind right now. The main one being: What happened?

As Scott walked on, he was swiftly passed by a kid on a bike. Curious and confused, he called out to him.

"Kid! Hey kid!"

The kid stopped his bike and looked back to Scott with a face that was a mixture of torture, hurt, and pain. He looked as though he had been crying for days.

This just made Scott even more confused.

"What the hell happened here?" He asked.

But the kid stayed silent. He just held his pained stare at Scott for a few more seconds before wiping some dried tears away before jumping back on his bike and kept on. Scott was left there with a still confused look. But he wouldn't get answers just standing here, so he continued walking.

After some more walking, he came across a park that had a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Only, it wasn't a park. There were mile long rows of headstones and quite a few people walking on well groomed cement walkways. To Scott, it kinda resembled a like a HUGE cemetery, only the headstones were massive. But he'd been in this area many times before, and he never saw this before. Curious, he went down to check it out.

As he got closer to them, he began to notice that on the large stones, there were hundreds of thousands of names in rows up and down them. And the people there didn't look happy.

Looking up at the top of one of the plaques, the words "THE VANISHED" were engraved. And they were at the rope of every one of them.

Scott's heartbeat sped up as it all began to sink in. This was a memorial! And apparently, it was for a vast multitude of people.

"No. Please. Please, please. No, no, no. No." He pleaded as he searched up and down the multiple columns of names. He passed through people and went around to another one and kept looking. "Excuse me, sorry. No, Cassie, no."

There was no sign of Cassie's name on it, so he went to another stone. On it was a section with the last name of L's. Immediately, Scott's eyes darted around as he searched it all over. Hoping a pleading that Cassie wasn't among them.

"Please, please, please, please... No, Cassie. Pl-"

But Scott was cut off by a shocking sight. He found the name he was looking for: Lang. But it wasn't Cassie's. On the stone was engraved: "Scott Lang".

HIS NAME!

"What?" He asked out loud, beyond confused.

The mere sight of his name on this wall took his breath away. Suddenly, something in him sparked up fear. And an even more fearful thought came to mind. If his name was on here, but Cassie's wasn't, then...oh no!

Scott took off running across the memorial. He was scared and desperate to know...to know if Cassie was still...still...alive. She had to be though, she just HAD TO BE!

* * *

He ran all the way back to his neighborhood to Maggie's house, never stopping his fast and determined speed. As soon as the house came into view, he speed up and ran up the driveway, and jumping onto the porch. Since he was desperate and didn't want to wait, he tried opening the door. But it was locked.

So he knocked. Not a regular knock, more like a BANG BANG BANG type of knock. Then he rang the doorbell, constantly. With those two combined, he also looked in to see if anyone was there.

Suddenly, through the dusty glass, he saw someone! It was a woman.

'Maggie?' Scott thought, hoping it was.

But it wasn't Maggie. This woman was shorter and looked younger. Teenager by the height of her. She walked towards the door but then she stopped mid-stride. She stated there for a minute, frozen in place at the sight of Scott. This confused him. What had made her stop to abruptly? Was it him?

But she started to walk again, this time slower as if cautious of something. Soon, she was right at the door, and her look of shock was replaced with a face of tearful joy. She opened the door and walked right up to Scott, holding his head in her hands and smiling happily.

Scott, at first confused, began to piece this together. This young teenage girl, who he didn't know but seemed to know him was completely happy at the sight of him. It came to him. Was it...was it really...?

"Cassie?" He said, still unsure.

She nodded lightly and smiled at hearing Scott say her name after so long. "Dad?" she replied, her breath hitching as she did. She was so happy to see him, she couldn't contain her joy.

The two don't exchange another word as Cassie pulled Scott into a big tight hug. He returned it without hesitation, but he was still in shock. He was hugging Cassie who was teenager. A TEENAGER! And the last time he saw her, she was just a little kid. Now, she was a young lady. He just couldn't believe it.

When they finally broke the hug, Scott looked at Cassie with amazement and smiled as tears began to form in his eyes. Cassie did the same. She was filled with joy and relief to have her father back with her here and now.

The silence between was awkward since they both wanted to say something, but they were both speechless. But Scott, who could never be speechless forever, said the first thing he could think of.

"You're so big!" He laughed with a shrug of the shoulders.

Cassie laughed at that and shrugged her shoulders too as she understood how he felt. She was about to reply when..

"Yo, Cassie! Who was it?" An all too familiar voice called out from inside of the house. Scott looked past Cassie as an older man walked into view to see who was at the door with Cassie, but who he saw he definitely didn't expect. "...Scotty?"

"Luis?" He replied with a smile.

"Omigod! GUYS, SCOTTY'S BACK!" He yelled back into the house before running up to Scott and pulling into a big hug like Cassie, lifting him up off the ground as he did. "SCOTTY!"

Scott couldn't help but hug his best friend back, he was truly glad to see him. "Argh, I missed you too, man!"

The two men held each other and Cassie stood there watching happily. But they hadn't noticed more from within in the house coming out as well.

"Scott?" Another voice said.

Scott and Luis broke their hug and looked back to the door to see Dave and Kurt standing there with equal surprised expressions.

"Guys!" Scott exclaimed.

The two came towards him with glee, glad to see their old friend again. Dave was first. "AYE SCOTT!"

"Hey Dave!"

"MAN, it's good to see you, bro!"

"You too, man. Kurt! Hey man!

"Welcome back, Scott. Long time, no see." The slick haired Russian greeted his friend with a smile and a hug.

"Yeah. Yeah I guess it has. But how long exactly? I mean, what the hell happened, an-and where's Maggie and Paxton?"

When they all heard him ask that, the happy reunion had taken a turn and was now heading down.

This immediately worried Scott as he began fearing for the worst. "What?"

"Um..." Cassie tried to say something, but couldn't get the words to come up.

"What?" Scott's eyebrows came together in confusion as he was weary of what the responses would be.

But before anyone could answer, "Cassie?"

All heads turned back to see a young boy, who couldn't be much older than a preteen, standing there in the doorway.

Scott's heart skipped a beat or so at the sight of the boy. 'Who is that?' He wondered.

Maybe a little friend of Cassie's? Or a kid that she was babysitting?

Cassie knelt down and opened her arms as a sign for the boy to come to her, which he did. Once he was, she embraced him. Then, she held him by the shoulders and looked him in the eye.

"PJ, do you remember the stories I've told you about your dad?" She asked, her voice cracking a little as tears began to form in her eyes.

The boy, whose name seemed to be PJ, nodded immediately, but still not fully understanding where this was going. And neither did Scott. Why was Cassie bringing up this kid's father right now, in front of him and the guys? He soon got his answer.

"Well, this is him." She said, nodding to Scott.

PJ looked up to Scott in surprise. This was his father. The one he never met, the one who he was told was a great man. A hero. A superhero. A father.

"Hi, Dad." He said nervously.

The wave of shock and emotion that hit Scott right there was something powerful. The last he saw PJ, he was a six month old baby. But now, here he was. A growing little boy. This was just...just wow.

"Hey PJ." He finally replied. "My god, look how big you've grown. How old are you now, like...nine?"

"Ten and a half."

'Ten and a half?!' Scott repeated to himself. How could this be? From the looks of things around the, it did seem like things had gone downhill badly. But it wasn't ten years. At least...not to him it wasn't... This was a lot. A LOT!

"Yo Scott, you good, bro?" Dave asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Uh...uh, yeah. I just...I don't get it. What happened?"

"I think we should go inside, Dad." Cassie said, trying to keep her father calm.

"Yeah, man." Luis added as well. "Let's go inside bro, I'll explain it to ya."

Though he was confused and really wanted answers, he agreed to go in with them and listen.

* * *

*****Living Room*****

"Ok Luis, lemme have it." Scott told his friend. "And remember, just the facts."

"Aw yeah. You got it, you got it. Ok, so ten years ago, I was going on a date with Ava."

* * *

[Flashback]

*****Scott & Luis' House*****

_"Ya know, the ghost girl that could go through walls and stuff? Yeah, I figured she was kinda beautiful, ya know, so I figured I'd shoot the my shot."_

_Luis is sitting on the couch, his leg bopping up and down nervously as he calls someone. That someone was Ava Starr._

* * *

*****Ava and Bill's Apartment*****

_"And surprisingly, she was like..."_

_Ava: "Of course I would, you handsome sexy beast of a man!"_

_"Whoa! Hold up!"_

(Flashback Pause)

* * *

Dave had cut Luis off with a look that screamed, "What're you talking about, man?"

Luis looked at him confused and shrugged his shoulders. "What?"

"That not what happen." Kurt added simply with a light shake of the head.

Luis was about to retort, but paused when he noticed Cassie and PJ trying to stifle their laughter at the trio. His face drooped before looking back to Dave and shot back. "How would you guys know? You weren't there!"

"Oh, yes we was!" Dave retorted.

Kurt nodded at that and added, "You call us to come and be your wingmen."

That stopped Luis and made him think. A second or two later, it came back to him.

"Oh yeah! That's right! I forgot about that."

Dave rolled his eyes and took the reigns. "What she really said was..."

* * *

_Back to Ava on the phone with Luis._

_Ava: "Sure, I'd like to go out with you."_

_"And that's how that happened."_

* * *

"Oh yeah, that's right." Luis nodded, remembering the true backstory. "Yeah, cuz then..."

* * *

*****Scott & Luis' House*****

_"-I asked you guys if you could babysit the kids for me while I was out."_

_Dave and Kurt were there, standing and listening as Luis asked them if they could watch Cassie and PJ who were in the room as well; with Cassie playing on the floor with a toddler PJ._

_"And y'all were like..."_

_Kurt: "Yeah, we got this."_

_Dave: "Go get 'em, bro!"_

_"Now that DID happen."_

* * *

*****Bathroom*****

_"So then, I had to get ready. Got all clean and freshened up, you know."_

_Luis is standing at the sink, looking in the mirror, admiring himself. Then he opened the vanity and pulled out a small bottle of cologne._

_"I used some Aqua Velva, you know I don't use cheap brands cuz that's not how Daddy roll. Gotta smell good for my date!"_

_"Ok, stop! Hang on a sec!"_

_(Flashback Paused)_

* * *

Scott had his hands up and his brain confused.

"What does any of this have to do with what happened?" He asked.

"I'm getting to that, bro!" Luis assured him.

"You remember how he is, Scott." Dave said as he leaned back in his chair, reminding him of their friend's tendency to ramble.

"Yeah, I do." Scott did remember what Luis was like. And strangely, he had missed it too.

"Like old car radio." Kurt added, "He no skip, just go with all of it."

That was so true, that was so Luis. Scott nodded in agreement to that while Cassie and PJ were still trying to hold back their laughter.

"Right. Please, continue."

* * *

_"So I went and picked her up and went to Shake-Shack. Can't get better than Shake-Shack, man. They get it done!"_

_Luis and Ava are sitting at a table for two with their food and are talking. Smiles are exchanged and it's going really good._

_"After a while, we were gettin' real close, ya know. By then some creepy sh** started happening. People were starting to disappear. Into thin air!"_

_As the two kept on talking, some commotion was happening over at the counter. It wasn't an unruly customer and the cashier going at it though. It was a scream of terror. They looked over to see someone screaming before that person began to slowly disintegrated into noting but dust._

_"It was kinda like in the JUMANJI movies, when they were being transported into the game and looked all dusty? Except the people weren't being transported anywhere, they were just...just vanishing."_

_Before long, more people were beginning to blow away into dust. And to they're shock, Ava began to dust too. Luis' eye were wide and his mouth wide open. That shock was pressed upon more when he saw more people beginning to disintegrate._

_Slowly, he began to run. Just running out of the restaurant quick. But when he got outside, the scene outside was way worse than it was in the Shake-Shack._

_"I ran outta there like hell and when I got outside, it was worse than it was in the restaurant. People were still dusting and cars were crashing, cuz some of them were in them but dusted and the cars went haywire! It was HELLA crazy out there, man."_

* * *

*****Scott & Luis' House*****

_Luis runs up the stair of the house and rushes in to see Dave and Kurt at the table playing cards and Cassie and PJ were on the couch, watching TV._

"I make it back to the crib, I bust in there and it's like,"

_Dave: "Aye man! You're back early."_

_Kurt: "How'd it go?"_

_"And I'm like,"_

_Luis: "You guys don't know what's goin' on out there?!"_

_Dave and Kurt look at each other confused before turning back to Luis and shaking their heads._

_"So then, I said,"_

_Luis: "Check the news! And Cassie, call your mom."_

_Luis tossed the little girl his phone, which she caught._

* * *

"Cuz I know you always said if you weren't around, call Maggie in case of an emergency. And this was DEFINITELY an emergency!"

Scott nodded again as he listened intently, following Luis with this story.

"So Cassie calls Maggie-"

* * *

_"-and their talking, and were over there watching the news and it's saying that this is happening all over the world!"_

_The guys are standing at the TV, surrounding it, and the news report on there reads: 'RAPID VANISHINGS'. And showed footage of people disintegrating into thin air._

_"And we were like,"_

_Dave: "Bro, what the hell?!"_

_"-and.."_

_Kurt: "This is SORCERY!"_

_Dave and Kurt and wigging out, Kurt more than Dave, but all were still shocked._

_"And like I said, Cassie was on the phone, talkin' to her mom, but then..."_

_Luis looked over his shoulder to his best friend's daughter and saw she was FaceTiming with her mom still._

_"Then what?"_

_Cassie is holding the phone with Maggie on the screen, talking with her. Suddenly, Maggie's face begins to dust and soon she disintegrates onscreen as Cassie watches._

_Cassie's eye go wide with horror as she watches her mom blow away. The phone's screen shows that Maggie's phone had been dropped and landed on its back with the camera showing the ceiling. Then, Paxton comes into view, looking down as he cries out for Maggie, investigating what just happened. Suddenly though, Paxton began to go next. And within seconds, he was gone._

_Cassie, so overcome with shock, lost feeling in her hand and let the phone drop from it._

_"Then what?!"_

(End of Flashback)

* * *

The room was silent as Scott waited for an answer. Everyone's heads were either down or heavy with emotions from that day.

Finally, Scott received his answer. Looking to the seats on his left, Cassie was holding PJ close to her and he hugged her back as he knew what her next words would be.

"They vanished too." She said, on the verge of tears.

Scott's felt a lump grow in his throat as his heart and breathing hitched. He couldn't believe this. Apparently, his children and friends had endured a lot of pain and a great loss. And the worst part of it was that he wasn't even here for it. It hadn't been ten years for him. To him, he hadn't been gone even half a day. But that didn't justify the situation any, not for him. He began to feel the pain too, and it wasn't exactly pleasant.

"I'm sorry." He finally said. "To all of you. I'm so sorry."

Luis shook his head at that. "Nah, Scotty. You didn't know, man."

"It doesn't matter! I should've been there. Here! Ah, whatever! The point is, I wasn't there for you guys when you needed me. Frickin' story of my life."

Scott let out a sigh, leaned back and covered his face with his hands and let out another sigh through them. This wasn't a good day for him...what could possibly make it better?

Suddenly, a feeling of a hand on his knee brought Scott out from retreating into himself. Lifting his hands and head up, he saw that is was PJ's hand on him, standing at his side.

The ten-and-a-half year old boy looked up at his father with tears eyes, sadness, but hope in them. And from that hope came his next words to his father. "You're here now, Dad..."

At that, Scott felt his heart begin to feel lifted up. Hearing his son say that to him, to reassure him that it was ok to be a little late...but that he was here...that made him feel...warm.

A smile and a small chuckle came to Scott's face as he slowly sat up in his seat. "Ha...yeah, I guess I am, huh?"

PJ nodded at his father's words. A smile coming to him too at seeing Scott smile. "Yeah, you are. And I'm happy that you're finally here, Dad."

Another ping came to Scott's heart at hearing PJ call him "Dad". That warm feeling engulfed him now and turned his down mood into a better one. One so good that Scott smiled even wider at his son, and PJ returned it.

"Me too." They looked over to Cassie to see her standing up before stepping over and kneeling down next to them. "I'm happy you're here too, Daddy. It's really good that you are."

Tears were welling in her eyes as she said those heartfelt words. The same began to happen for Scott as he looked back and forth between his kids.

"Oh, Peanut."

The growing happiness inside him became so overwhelming that he didn't hesitate any longer to pull them both in for a hug. It took the two by surprise at first, but they soon returned it and hugged back with so much love for their dad.

Smiles came to Luis, Kurt, and Dave and the three onlookers saw their good friend share a tender moment with his kids. But as much fun as it was to watch this tearful scene, it was too much for them not to join in.

Following Luis, the three walked over and joined in on the Lang's triangle hug.

"Yay, group hug!" PJ exclaimed happily.

They all laughed at his excitement and tightened the hug. In the middle, Scott had on a genuine smile. Granted, it wasn't what he expected to come home to, and this wasn't the ideal reunion for a father to his kids/friends. But regardless of that, it was his family, and he was glad to have them. All of them.

* * *

Hours later, the sun had started to set and the sound of tummies growling called for dinner.

Unanimously, pizza was decided upon and they all enjoyed the delicious cheesy goodness of it all. After dinner, they had all sat in the living room for a movie. Said movie was Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

When it got to the part of the Enterprise Crew arriving in San Francisco in the 1980s, conversation began to spark between the group.

"So they traveled back in time to bring back some whales to the future to stop a drone that can only talk to them?" Dave asked, making sure he wasn't missing anything so far.

PJ enthusiastically replied to him, "Yep! That's their mission."

"But how did they get from 2286, back to 1986 though? Cuz I didn't see no time machine."

"Didn't you see?" Kurt chimed in, "They use slingshot maneuver around the Sun. Using gravitational assist which make them go fast enough to shoot them back into past."

Dave let out a light sigh at that and shook his head. He didn't entirely understand what Kurt just explained, but whatever it was, it worked in the movie. "If you say so, man."

As they continued watching, the conversation and the plot of the movie made Scott think more about the present situation of the outside world. The similarities were uncanny. And the crazy thing was that it was based on real things. The gravitational assist from the Sun was true, and that had worked in real life too.

And it was almost similar to the...to the Quantum Realm. Suddenly, an idea came to him. It wasn't great, but it was possible...possibly. It was possibly possible, but it could work.

But then he realized something else; he couldn't do it alone. If he was going to try and act on this idea, he'd need help. And he knew just the people to go to.

"I gotta go find the Avengers." He said out loud, standing up as he did.

His abrupt words and action made everyone look away from the movie towards him.

"What?" Cassie questioned, pausing the movie to give her full attention to this.

"I have to go find the Avengers." Scott repeated, more confident about what he had to do.

"Ah, they're gone, bro." Dave reluctantly told his friend, not too happy about bursting whatever bubble Scott had.

"When Snap happen ten years ago, Avengers vanish as well." Kurt added.

Scott's eyebrows furrowed at this. "What, you mean they got dusted too?"

They all nodded in reply.

"So they're ALL gone?"

Luis shrugged his shoulders as he answered his friend, "Well, The Hulk's still there. He's like the only one left though."

Ooh, ok. That put a slight...all right, make the a big dent in Scott's plan, but didn't change a thing.

"...I'm still gonna go."

"What?" Cassie jumped up. "Dad, why?"

"Because..." Scott looked at the TV and was reminded of his idea. "Cause, there may be a way to reverse this...and if there is, then I'm gonna need help."

Cassie didn't entirely understand what her father meant, but she saw hope and fire in his eyes. And that was enough for her to have confidence in him. But not enough to let him go at it alone. So throwing her fears aside, she stood from her spot on the couch and looked at Scott with a look of determination.

"Well then I'm going with you."

In Scott's mind, a red flag IMMEDIATELY went up. "No, Cassie. I'm gonna need you to stay here with Luis and the gu-"

"Dad, I haven't seen you in ten years. And I get it. You have to go ba Ant-Man and save the world again. But if you think I'm gonna let you go across the country by yourself after not having seen you in all this time, you've got another thing coming."

Scott was amazed at how stern and confident his daughter sounded right now. But then again, she always did give good motivational advice. Thinking back to 2018 when he was still on house arrest but had to be Ant-Man again. He was down and not sure if he should go back in. But then here came Little Cassie, comforting and wanting to help her father. And now here she was, ten years later, a young woman and still wanting to help.

He couldn't help but feel proud of her. But there was something else too. "What about PJ?"

"He can come too! It'll be a road trip. Just the three of us. What do ya say, PJ?"

The young Lang jumped up at his name. "I'm in! I am SO in!"

A proud smile came to Scott's face as he looked between his two kids.

"When did you become so grown up?" He said proudly, bringing a hand to her cheek.

Cassie shrugged a little. "Something I picked up from you."

Shaking his head and smiling proudly, Scott looked at his daughter, then his son, and then his friends. All of their eyes were on him and they all had trust in him too. And that gave him the push he needed.

"Alright, let's do it."

* * *

*****Cassie and PJ's Room*****

As the two kids packed their bags, a strange feeling came to Cassie. Almost like a calling of some sort. That calling made her look over to their closet. Immediately, she remembered what was there. What she had kept in the back of it.

With this situation, she figured this might be it.

"Hey PJ?" She called her little brother.

"Yeah?" He replied, looking over to her.

"Remember when I told you that one day it'd be time to use our presents that Grandpa Hank made for us?"

A smile came to PJ's face as he looked towards the closet as well and looked back to Cassie. "Yeah?"

She smiled as well before going over to the closet, opening it and pushing the hanging clothes aside to reveal the "presents" behind them. "I think it's time we start using them." She said confidently.

PJ walked over to stand next to his sister and looked at their "presents" excitedly.

His heart began to race as the glee built inside of him. "It's about damn time!" He agreed excitedly.

* * *

After packing a few things and loading them into Luis' van, the Langs boarded the vehicle and said their goodbyes to the three men.

"By Uncle Luis, Uncle Dave, Uncle Kurt!"

"Later, little Peej!" Dave waved back.

"Take good care, kid." Kurt said with a nod.

"Hey, you guys be careful out there Scotty."

"Thanks, Luis. I will." Scott replied gratefully. "You guys be safe too."

They all nodded at each other before the van was turned on. For old times sake, Scott jokingly honked the crazy horn as the car moved forward and they set out on their journey.

"ROAD TRIP!" PJ exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, buddy!" Scott said, honking the horn once again.

Cassie laughed at the horn and the joy that was coming from her father and brother. This was truly an amazing moment, and she was glad that she insisted on them coming along. And she also hoped that this trip would be filled with many more of these heartwarming moments.

* * *

A few minutes into the drive, Scott began to think about something. Something that may help with this plan of his. Once again, it was a long shot and this slight addition was an even BIGGER long shot.

But it was still a shot. So with his mind made up, he drove and made a small detour to Berkeley University.

* * *

The past three days on the road together had been filled with laughs, music and a few family selfies along the way to The Avengers Facility. It seemed that Cassie had gotten her wish of many more happy moments with her family.

Without a doubt, it was a time that they all had enjoyed very much, especially Scott. But Cassie was making sure that all of this time was great, and she was happy that she could be here with them.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Peanut?" Scott replied.

"Thanks for letting us come along."

"Well you didn't really give me much choice."

Cassie snickered at that, remembering how much she insisted on their coming along. Scott laughed at it too.

"But no, seriously, I'm glad you came along too...to be honest, I wasn't exactly ready to up and leave you guys so soon. But this, this was great. Your decision was a mature one, and I have to remember that I don't have a little girl for a daughter anymore...I have a young lady...and I just can't get over that."

Cassie smiled at her dad as tears started to come up again. To hear him say that to her, about her...it meant so much. So, so much.

"I love you, Daddy." She said.

"I love you too, Peanut." Scott replied with a smile.

"I love you too, Dad!" PJ added gleefully.

Scott laughed a little at his son's words and persona. Plus to hear him say that he "loves" him, that just drove it home for him.

"I love you too, PJ!"

This was another great moment for the three of them. And it was definitely gonna stick.

After a few more minutes of driving along the road they were on, a familiar white building came into view. Then, a large gate came into view as well.

"We're here, guys." Scott said as they neared the gate.

The van slowed down as they drove right up to the gate.

No one was around, but there was a camera on one of the columns.

"Be right back." Scott opened the door and took his jacket with him. Putting it on as he walked up towards the column, he noticed that there was a button on it.

He went ahead and pushed it and waited for something to happen. Seconds later, the camera up top began to move until it was on Scott and he noticed it. Someone must be in there and they could see him.

Immediately, he began to speak.

"Oh! Hi. Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

From inside the van, Cassie and PJ could see their father talking to the camera.

"Ant-Man? Ant-Man, I know you know that. I need to talk to you guys."

After a few more seconds, the gate unlocked and began to roll backwards for them to enter. Seeing this, Scott jumped back in the van and closed the door behind him.

"Here we go, kids," He said as they proceeded onto the premises.

* * *

**My, My, MY! Six thousand plus words. The longest chapter I have EVER WRITTEN! This was a chapter I didn't wanna leave anything out. There's a lot to unbox here.**

**Scott is back in the real world now, Cassie and PJ have been intro'd, and Luis, Dave and Kurt are here as well! The three cool, funny X-Cons survived the Snap, baby! There's also many interactions between Scott, Cassie, and PJ within this chapter. I've been wanting to do this for so long and I'm so happy to finally have this out.**

**Also ofc, the iconic Luis' ramble flashback was in here as well. Lol! I absolutely had to have that in here, you ALREADY know!**

**So I hope you guys enjoyed this, that it was worth the wait. You should know that the reason it's taken so long, aside from this long chapter, is because I have been working overtime to get more chapters done so that there won't be so long a wait for the next chapter. So now, there are five chapters that have already been prewritten and completed and on standby for release. So you guys got plenty coming. ;)**

**Anyway, that's all for now. PLEASE review/comment, lmk what y'all thought of this chapter. PLEASEEEE! Thank you!**

**Laters!**


	25. Crazy Or Not

*****Common Room*****

After parking the van outside, the three Langs walked into the Compound and were lead to the common room, where they saw two young looking people. A red haired boy, and a blonde/red girl.

As soon as Scott saw them, he became a little stumped. He hadn't expected to see kids here.

"Uh, hi." He said mannerly, not knowing what to say right now.

Jamie nodded at him and his kids. "Mr. Lang. I'm Jamie Rogers, and this is my sister, Nikki."

Nikki kindly nodded and waved at the visitors as well. They, in response did the same.

"Oh! Nice to-meet you guys. Uh, I'm Scott, and these are my kids. Cassie and PJ."

"Hi." "Hey." The two young Langs said simultaneously, waving at the twins in front of them.

"It's nice to meet you all too." Nikki replied, taking the reigns of this convo. "What can we help you with?"

Immediately, Scott's reason for being here came back to mind. "Oh yeah, right. Um, ok before I answer that, I have a question...who are you guys? I mean-we know WHO you are now, I guess. But what I mean is, are you guys like, friends of the Avengers or something?"

Jamie and Nikki shared a look of surprise before he decided to answer that question. "Uh, not really. We're more like family. Actually we are family."

"Captain America and Black Widow were our parents." Nikki bluntly added, furthering her brother's statement.

Scott's eyes went wide at that as his mind blew. Suddenly, it all clicked in his mind. Rogers. Captain America's real last name. He mentally slapped himself for not realizing that sooner.

"Wow...wow, that's uh...I'm sorry, I'm still trying to process this."

"Wait, so if you're they're kids," Cassie cut in, shocked herself by this pice of information, "then that would mean that...you guys have been..."

Now, she was struggling to form words.

Jamie and Nikki could see that the Langs were too, so as twins would, the two jumped in and finished their sentence for them. "Orphans for the last ten years." "Yes...yes we have."

There it was. Cassie felt her heart pinch at hearing the two confirm her thoughts. These two had experienced the same thing she and her brother had for the past decade as well.

A feeling of empathy came to her as she realized it. It was a sad realization, but it was all too familiar for her NOT to see it. As she gathered her thoughts, PJ noticed that she was seeming distraught. "Cassie, are you ok?" He asked her.

"Uh yeah, PJ. I am." She replied, doing her best to compose herself.

Scott, on the other hand, had begun pacing back and forth like a nervous wreck, obviously with something heavy on his mind.

"Mr. Lang?" Jamie called out to him.

"Huh?" Scott replied, being pulled from his thoughts before realizing what was happening in reality. "Oh, it's ok man. You can call me Scott."

"Ok well, Scott. Um...are you okay?

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just...thinking about something. Have either of you ever studied Quantum Physics?"

Jamie shook his head at that. That hadn't really come up before within his science classes. He thought the same for his sister too. But surprisingly, she replied, "Only to make conversation."

That made Jamie turn his head in confusion. What did she mean by that? What conversation had come up to where she'd be talking about that? Nikki must've felt his stare because she looked over to him and saw his confusion.

"I'll tell you later." She mouthed to him.

That didn't help Jamie's being baffled, but he decidedly let it slide and focus on what Scott was saying.

"Alright." He started, "So... ten years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my..." He was stuck on what to say. It was something he hadn't thought about too much and something he didn't want to keep bringing up in front of PJ.

"She was my... She was supposed to pull me out. But then, Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there."

'Stuck there?!' Nikki thought to herself. That was awful. It was something she could relate to, but what Scott was talking about was even worse. She had been in a mental prison for the past ten years, and she had help too. But what Scott had was complete solitude and loneliness. A tear began to form in her eye at the thought of that.

"I'm sorry, Scott." She empathized with him. "That must've been a very long ten years."

But Scott didn't seem all that distraught about it. And it was confirmed by his next words. "Yeah, but that's just it. It WASN'T. For me, it was ten HOURS."

Ten hours? What?! Jamie and Nikki both said that in their minds as they shared bewildered look with one another before looking back to Scott.

"How's that possible?" Jamie asked.

"You see, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. And-" Scott was midway into explaining his theory when a peanut butter sandwich on a nearby table caught his eye. "Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving."

He didn't wait for an answer as he already made a beeline for it and bit into it. Enjoying the silky, creamy, peanut butteriness of it. Nikki was going to say something about it being her sandwich, but she figured Scott needed it more than she did. Meanwhile, Cassie shook her head and laughed inwardly while PJ smiled and laughed without trying to stop it.

Jamie though, curious about what Scott was getting at earlier pulled him back to reality. "Scott, what are you talking about?"

Scott wipes his mouth and continued his explanation while still eating the sandwich. "Right. What I'm saying is, time works differently in the Quantum Realm. The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it." As he continued to explain, Jamie and Nikki began to think. This idea of Scott's was starting to have some light behind it. Maybe, just maybe. "What if, we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos..."

"Wait, are you talking about a time machine?" Jamie asked, kinda grasping the subject.

"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a..." Scott tried to think of something better, possibly cooler to call it. But unfortunately, nothing came to mind. "Yeah, a time machine. I know it's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way to... There's gotta be...no, it's-it's crazy. "

"Scott, I'm fifteen and I get e-mails from a space raccoon," Nikki interjected, calming Scott down. "So not much sounds crazy anymore."

Scott nodded, glad to be understood. "So uh, who do we talk to about this?"

There was a silence as the Twins thought about it.

"Peter could know something about it." Nikki spoke up.

Jamie looked at her and thought about it. She was right though, Peter might know something about quantum theory. He was good with that sort of stuff. "Yeah, maybe." Jamie nodded.

"Who's Peter?" Cassie asked, jumping in.

"He's a friend, he's like our older brother."

"Yeah, and he's Spider-Man."

"NIKKI!" Jamie exclaimed.

"What?" She retorted, as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

"You can't just tell a superhero's identity to people like that! There's safety to worry about."

Nikki raises an eyebrow before turning to Scott and asking him, "Scott, you superhero right?"

At first, he was unsure if he should get in the middle of this, but Scott couldn't pass up the chance of being referred to as a superhero. Standing a little taller and puffing chest out a little, he smiled and casually replied, "Yeah. I'm Ant-Man."

That placed a proud smirk on Nikki's face as she turned back to Jamie and raised her eyebrow up again. The redhead twin sighed, know he'd lost this round. "Alright, fine. But still, don't go around, just firing it off anymore. Okay?"

"Whatever you say, bro." She said, holding that smirk a while longer.

"So this friend of your, Peter, can help us?" Cassie asked, bringing the matter at hand back to light.

His focus back on track, Jamie nodded. "Yeah, he'd be the first I'd go to on this. This kind of stuff, it's not exactly my forte."

Scott understood that, he was barely understanding Quantum Physics himself. But that's why they needed help, and now they had it. "Alright, so let's go see him."

Jamie and Nikki nodded before grabbing their shoes and coats.

"FRIDAY, let Betty know we're going out please." Nikki requested.

_"Yes ma'am."_ The AI responded.

This surprised Scott and the kids, they had just heard a voice within the room had speak. Their shocked looks soon turned into looks of wonder and amazement.

"So cool!" PJ exclaimed, stoked out of his mind.

* * *

**Alright, alright, alright! The Langs have met Jamie and Nikki, and now they're off to meet Peter! The ball is rolling, people! And there are gonna be loads of surprises along the way.**

**Next up, we're gonna see Peter, but also Morgan! That's right, Morgan will be showing up in the next chapter. And I think you're really gonna like what I've got in store.**

And one last thing, it's been confirmed that Hailee Steinfeld is Kate Bishop for the MCU! That's my favorite actress and she's gonna be in the MCU! And it's the best fancast role yet! And it makes me so glad that I made a last minute decision to cast her as Kate in this story before I published this story. So I'm SOOOOOO stoked for this and I can't wait to show you guys what I have in store for you. I think you'll like it. So yeah, REALLY looking forward to that. 👩 💜

**See y'all then! Later! ✌**


	26. A Second Chance

*****Cabin*****

The sounds of a few birds chirping, water in a nearby lake, the wind blowing against the grass. That's what the surroundings of the Stark Cabin were. Quaint and peaceful. Almost like something out of a fairytale.

And the occupants were happy about it too. One of them, Peter Parker, walked out of the cabin and took it all in. Even though he was from the city, he loved nature. And it was moments like these where he liked to stop and enjoy it.

After he did for a few seconds, he ascended the porch steps.

"Ok, lunchtime!" He exclaimed as he started on a small grassy path.

The path led to a little play area that had a tent, a blanket, and a picnic table.

"Young Padawan!" He called out as he sat on a small chair in front of the tent. "Morgan A. Stark, you want some lunch?"

A small hand pulled the curtains of the tent back and out walked a little girl with a repulsor blaster on her palm and a purple and silver Iron Man helmet on. "Define 'wunch', or be 'dithintegwated'."

Peter immediately put his hands up mimicking the girl, but also a bit defensively. "Whoa, whoa! Don't fire! Friendly! Friendly!"

"Hmm, 'vewy' well. You are 'cwear'."

The girl lowered her hand and a laugh could be hear from behind it. Peter put his hands down and let out a genuine sigh of relief, only making her laugh more.

"Did I 'thcare' you?"

"A little bit, yeah. I'm not gonna lie. Ya know, you shouldn't be wearing this, little sister. This is part of something special I was fixing up for your mom."

He reached over and carefully slid the helmet off, revealing the cute innocent little face of Morgan. She smiled and watched as he held it up.

"Where'd you find this anyway?" He asked curiously.

"'Gawage'."

"Oh yeah? Were you looking for it?"

Morgan shook her head and played with her hair. "No, I found it though."

"Found it, huh?"

Morgan nodded with a smile.

"You like the garage, don't you?" Peter asked.

"Yeah."

"Me too. It's a great place to tinker. Or just be sneaky like you."

Peter bopped Morgan's nose and she laughed.

"I 'wathn't' 'thneaky', I'm 'justh' that good."

"Yeah, you are."

Peter laughed and hugged her, and she hugged back. She loved Peter. He was her big brother, even though he wasn't blood. She didn't care, and neither did he. They were family.

"You hungry?" He asked as they broke the hug.

She nodded and smiled.

"Alright, come on." Peter stood up and they walked hand in hand toward the cabin. "And don't worry. As long as your mom didn't see it, it's okay. I wanna finish it first before I give it to her."

"'It'th' a 'thupwise'?" Morgan asked with her cute lisp.

"Yeah, pretty much. It's actually a gift that your um...that your Dad was making for your mom."

"'Weawy'?"

"Yup. But um...I'll tell you more about it later."

He picked her up she held on to him as he carried her to the cabin.

As he did, he just couldn't help but think of Tony. And Morgan? Wow...She was just like her father. Drawn to the suit, and a natural with it even at the age of seven. The Stark brains/smarts were definitely in her, just like her father. Tony would've been proud.

A few tears threatened to come out, but Peter fought them away.

So the two just made it to the porch when Peter heard a car come to a stop behind them.

Turning around, they saw Jamie, Nikki, another familiar man and two kids getting out.

"Nikki! Jamie! " Morgan exclaimed as Peter let her down and she ran over to the teens.

The blonde twin knelt down and held out her arms for Morgan to run into. When she did, Nikki picked her up and twirled her around in a hug.

"Good to see you, Morgan!" She exclaimed. "I missed you."

"I 'mithed' you too!" The toddler replied.

As they hugged, behind them, Jamie waved to Peter and he waved back as he walked over.

"Hey Pete."

"Hey, man." He offered a bro hug which Jamie accepted. "What's-what's going on?"

"Well, we..." Jamie motioned to himself and then to Scott who was behind him. "We got something to talk to you about."

This confused Peter. What would they have to talk about that was so important to where Jamie couldn't give him a call? Whatever it was, it must be important for them to come all this way.

"Let's talk." He said as he motioned for them to come onto the porch and sit.

* * *

*****Front Porch*****

Scott has just finished explaining his life idea to Peter, who had mad some drinks for them all as the Ant-Man explained.

"Mmm! This is pretty good!" Scott said before taking another sip of his beverage he Peter had just poured.

"Yeah, it is." Cassie agreed. "What is it?"

Peter smiled at their reactions before describing his tasty creation. "It's a mixture of a strawberry milkshake with a scoop of chocolate, whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. I call it the Darth Maul-ted."

"Like Star Wars?" They all asked.

"Uh..yeah. Yeah, exactly like Star Wars." That shocked Peter to hear them, but he smiled nonetheless with a bit of pride.

As they took another sip, Jamie jumped in and tried to focus back on the matter at hand.

"So Peter, do you think it's possible? I mean, after everything you've seen...do you think we could do it?"

"Right." He said, getting his mind focused again. "Uh, maybe...I-I don't really know. I'm don't really know much within this area, and that that I DO know is that the risks are very high. The biggest one being that you...you don't come home."

"I did." Scott stated, thinking it might help the case.

"That's true. But technically, it's more like...you 'accidentally survived'. It's basically a billion to one cosmic fluke."

"So it's really THAT unstable." Cassie said. It came out as more of a question than a statement, but it was something that she was kind of already clear on. If it could keep her father stuck for ten years, then it HAD to be serious.

Peter nodded at her statement. "Yeah, it is. And if we were to pull off this... this...actually, I just realized that I didn't ask, but does this plan have a name?"

Once again, Scott was stumped. He just realized he never thought up a name for his idea. Thinking of something on the fly, he stated, "...Time Heist."

"That's a pretty cool name." Peter commended Scott, a curious smile tugging at the corner of his lips which made Scott smile a little too. Unfortunately though, the seriousness came back to squash the short lived joy there. "But still, I-I don't know if we can."

"Pete, the stones are in the past. We could go back and get them-"

"-and snap our own fingers and bring everyone back," Nikki cut in, finishing her brother's sentence.

Peter nodded, but was still unsure about it all. "Yeah...yeah. But you don't think that we may accidentally screw it up worse than Thanos already did?"

"I don't believe we would." Jamie stated positively.

That made Peter release a small snicker. It was moments like this that made him remember who Jamie's father was. Captain America. The man who always tried to look on the bright side and look out for everyone while he did it. It was uncanny sometimes. "You sound just like your dad right now. He was really optimistic, all the time.." He said with a sad half smile.

Jamie let his head drop at that. Not because of what Peter said really, but because he didn't really have much control over his optimism. It just came naturally to him. Felt good too. And to her that it made him like his father made him want this more and more.

"Still though," Peter began again, fear more apparent in his voice. "There's too many risks. I mean, we could end up dying!"

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel." Scott reasonably replied, taking a seat across from Peter. "You know, no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events -"

"Uh, Scott? Just so I'm clear, are you telling me that your time travel knowledge based on Back To The Future?"

"Uh...no?"

"Oh ok. I mean, not that that's a problem. It IS the go-to time travel movie. Plus, a lot of my knowledge on it is from there too, so don't worry if it is."

Scott nodded and smiled at that, glad that this kid, or young adult rather, shared a good appreciation for popular culture. "Thanks. So, what do you say?"

Once again, fear set in on Peter. This time with flashback images of Tony dying in his arms came to him. This made him all the more hesitant in his answer.

"I don't know. I just...I...I don't know."

"Peter..." Nikki called, a light crack in her voice from held back tears, "We have to do this...we have to take a stand."

He looked up to her and listened to her as she said that. And deep down, he knew she was right.

"Yeah...yeah, I know. It's just...the last time I took a stand, it...it didn't end so well."

"How do I know it won't end the same way it did last time?"

"You don't." Cassie answered, cutting in. "But at least you'll have tried."

"Plus, one thing that'll make it not like last time, Pete, is that this time, we'll be doing it together." Jamie said, trying to reach his big brother figure.

"Look Peter, I get it." Scott pleaded, empathizing his new friend, "I do. You lost someone like a father to you. I understand what its like. And with Thanos, I lost someone very important to me too. We all did, a lot of people now, we have a chance to bring them back. To bring EVERYONE back...we HAVE to do this."

Peter thought about it and contemplated the thoughts. Pro: they somehow succeed and it all ends happy; Con:...they miss and they all die. Not exactly encouraging. And the mere thought of any of them dead made Peter feel even worse. But still...what if they could? What if?...

"Peter," Nikki began, making him look up at her. "I know how hard it's been for you...and I know that you're haunted by those memories...but this, this is a second chance. For EVERYONE...And yeah, it's risky. But if there's even a small chance we can pull this off...that we can undo all of this mess, we owe it to everyone who's not us to try."

Peter nodded at that, she was right. If there was a chance at bringing everyone who was lost back, a chance...a chance at seeing Tony again...regardless of how small it was...Peter was going to take it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're right... I'm in. I don't know exactly how to do it, but I'll uh...I'll get to work and see what I can do. It's not my best field, but...I'll still try."

Jamie, Nikki, and the Langs nodded in relief. Relief that they'd have more help in this plan. It actually gave them hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, they could do it.

Their silence was broken by the sound of a door to the house closing and little Morgan walking out and over to Peter.

"Mom 'thent' me out here to 'thave' you." She stated.

Peter smiled at her cuteness. "Aww. My hero!I'm saved." He said as picked her up and set her on his knee before hugging her. Then he turned back to his guests. "In the meantime though, we're gonna have to get more data on this. Maybe run a test or two to see how it'd work."

They all nodded before standing up and saying their goodbyes.

Scott held out his hand and Peter shook it with respect.

"Thank you, Peter." He thanked him gladly.

"No, thank you, Scott. This was your idea, and it's got some hope with it. So thank you."

Scott smiled at that before nodding and shaking Peter's hand once more before walking off the porch. Cassie and PJ waved at him with smiles before joining their father at the bottom of the steps.

Turning towards the Twins, Nikki came up to him and pulled him in for a hug. "Thanks, big bro." Peter couldn't help but smile at that as he returned the hug.

"You got it, sis." He replied.

When they finally broke the hug, Nikki kissed Peter's cheek before letting go and smiling as she walked away.

Jamie came next and hugged Peter as well, which Peter returned to his "little brother". When they pulled away, Jamie had on a slick smile. "I'm not kissin' ya." He snorted before walking away and laughing as he did.

Peter shook his hand as he watched them walk off the porch. As he did, he watched them and thought, 'That's my family.' with a smile

Yes, that was his family, and he was happy to have them. And it would seem the Langs would become new additions to that family.

He stayed smiling as he looked down to Morgan. "Hungry, Morg?"

"Yup!" She replied excitedly as she took his hand and the two headed inside.

* * *

"He's scared," Nikki stated as the walked up to the car.

"He's got reason to be." Jamie added, "But at least he's in. We can't do it without him."

"Yeah, but don't we still need someone who knows about Quantum Theory?" Cassie asked.

Jamie nodded at that. "Yeah, I wanna do it right...we're gonna need a really big, smart brain."

"Bigger than his? Where are we gonna find that?!"

"Nikki?"

"Making the call." She said, already dialing the number and putting the phone to her ear. After a few seconds, she heard the line pick up. "Hey, Uncle Bruce? Hi, it's me, Nikki. Yea, it has. Yeah, uh, can we talk?"

* * *

**Boom-bada-boom! Peter and Morgan really are the best brother and sister piece I've had the pleasure of writing. ****And I hope I did her lisp good too. Lol ****😍😍😍 Glad I was able to bring this to you guys, and there's more Peter and Morgan coming soon. So don't worry about that. ;)**

**Also, we got more of Cassie and PJ in here. Gotta use them more since their main characters in this story. So expect to see more of them alongside Scott.**

**Thirdly, Peter's in on the Time Heist! I had to change up the dialogue and emotions here a bit, cause I feel like Peter, being the nerd he is, would be more open to a time travel theory than Tony would be. But I also had to make him hesitant since he's still haunted by the memories of Tony dying. So I hope that worked for you guys, and the all is definitely rolling along. Plus, Nikki made a call to Bruce at the end, paving the way for what comes next. So I think you're gonna love what I've got in store for the next chapter.**

* * *

**Last minute note, we got a BOAT LOAD of Marvel news today. From Captain Marvel 2 to the She-Hulk series, we have a lot of exciting news. But some not so exciting news as well... It is sad that Emma Fuhrmann has been replaced as Cassie Lang. I honestly don't know why they couldn't keep Emma in the role, cuz for the few seconds she was in Endgame, she made it pretty great. I want and wish she could still be there for Ant-Man and the Wasp 3, but I guess it doesn't get to be that way...onscreen! Emma is STAYING as Cassie in this story, I PROMISE YOU! The same with Riri Williams, she is played by Sofia Wylie in here too and always will be. Period!**

**Ok, that's all til the next chapter. Well, I'll see you guys there. Later!**


	27. Confusing Times

**Ok, next chapter here! Get ready for some humor, emotions, and a bit of a backstory. Enjoy!**

* * *

*****Diner*****

So after making a call, and a bit of driving, the Twins, Scott and the Lang kids made it to a diner where they met up with someone they knew very well.

"Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating here," the person said. "Here, have some eggs."

A huge green hand pushed a big bowl of scrambled eggs towards Scott. And that hand belonged to none other than the Green Giant himself, The Hulk.

But, this wasn't the normal Hulk. Hulk had a deep, DEEP voice, and accidentally broke things and didn't form full sentences.

And he DEFINITELY didn't wear clothes except for his pants. Or glasses!

But this wasn't JUST the Hulk. He had Bruce Banner's voice, his eyes, and more of his facial features. He almost looked...human! Minus the still height and the still largeness to him.

"This is so cool!" PJ whispered to Cassie from the booth next to them, while Cassie, who was sitting in a chair next to the Hulk...or Bruce, merely scrunched her face.

Cool wasn't exactly the word she'd use right now. Surprising, yes. Shocking, most definitely. But cool?...Okay, maybe a little bit cool. It was the Hulk, after all. But it was kinda confusing too.

"I am so confused." Scott bluntly stated, speaking her exact thoughts.

"These are confusing times." Bruce replied with a snicker at the end.

"No, no. I mean, that's not what I meant." Scott tried to correct himself, but Bruce caught him.

"I know, I'm-I'm kidding!" He exclaimed, looking at himself, "It's crazy! I'm wearing shirts now!"

"Yeah but, how? Why?"

Bruce wipes his mouth and put his napkin, which was more like a giant paper towel, down before he began to explain. "Ten years ago, we got our a**es beat. Except it was worse for me because I lost three times. First Hulk lost, then Banner lost...and then we ALL lost...we lost our friends."

"We don't blame you though, Uncle Bruce." Nikki stated.

"I did. After that, I felt really bad about it. Cause I felt like I could've done more. But I didn't. And then I had to take care of you guys."

Jamie and Nikki looked right at Bruce. They knew this story. Bruce had raised them, with Betty. And they'd visit with Azari T'Challa as well on occasion, and they're still friends to this day. To say the same about Torunn was uncertain since they hadn't really talked in almost five years. But they still considered her a friend.

"I didn't mind it." Bruce continued, "Not in the slightest...and it wasn't easy! Heh...but it was great."

This made Scott smile. He was happy that even though there was a great loss, there was some gain too. Jamie and Nikki, on the other hand, blushed in happiness. They were happy to have been raised by their Uncle Bruce. Even though he turned into a giant green Gamma monster.

"And we thank you for that, Uncle Bruce." Jamie replied.

"Anytime, bud. But like I said, it wasn't easy. But it gave me and Betty the chance that I didn't think we'd ever get. A family. Something I thought could never happen when you have gamma radiation in your blood stream...For years, I'd been treating the Hulk like he was some sort of disease. Something to get rid of...But then, I started looking at him as the cure."

Now, Scott, Jamie and Nikki were listening intently as to how Bruce got to his current state.

"Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together! And now look at me, best of both worlds!"

As he explained, a group of kids came up to Bruce with the smiles of a fan club.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?" One of them, a girl, called.

Bruce turned and looked at them with a smile. One you didn't see too often from the Hulk. But he still responded kindly. "Yes?"

"Can we take a picture with you?"

"One hundred percent, little person! Come on, step on up."

Bruce took the phone they already had out and held it out to Scott. "Would you mind?"

"Oh yeah!" Scott took the phone, pulled up the camera and got up against the window of the booth seat to get all four of them in a picture.

"Ok, say 'Green!'" Bruce told them.

"GREEEEEEEEEEEN!" They all said in harmony as they looked at the camera.

"Did you get it?" Bruce asked, still posing just in case.

"Yup," Scott replied as he came back down. "Hey, you guys wanna get one with me? I'm Ant-Man!"

There was an awkward silence between them as the kids didn't really want to. But at the same time Bruce encouraged them to so as not to hurt Scott's feelings.

"It's ok," Scott said, not wanting to push them before this got TOO awkward, "You're Hulk fans. I get it. You don't know Ant-Man, it's ok. NO ONE does."

But Bruce, being the good person he was, still tried to encourage the kids to take a picture with him. But Scott kept trying to let it go. And seeing one of the kids shake his head 'No' at taking a picture with him was MORE THAN A ENOUGH confirmation.

"Take the frickin' phone!" He exclaimed subtly.

So the kids took it, that moment done with, and they thanked Bruce for taking the picture with them.

Jamie took a sip from his water after that awkward moment before he tried to get back to the conversation. "Uncle Bruce... Uncle Bruce!"

After pulling himself back together from doing a dab with the kids and reminding them to listen to their parents, he was back in the conversation. "Sorry, yeah!"

"Back to what you were saying, please?"

"Right. Uh, your whole time travel do over?...Not gonna lie, sounds like something out of a comic book. Or a 1980s sci-fi movie!" The Green Genius chuckled, "But looking at me, I got no room to talk. (sigh) Well guys, it's-it's outta my area of expertise."

Nikki shrugged at that. "Well you pulled this off. I remember when Aunt Betty said that that seemed almost impossible for you too."

Bruce smiled and nodded at that. "Well...if we did, we'd need someone who is smart in this area. Like 'has a degree' smart. Scott?"

Scott's head popped up at the mention of his name. "Yeah?"

"Now you know more about this Quantum Realm better than any of us at this table. That's one in. But, that's not enough. No offense."

"None taken."

"So do you know anyone else who could help us with this? Anyone at all?"

Scott thought really hard. And it wasn't easy since he didn't know many people who were great in this field of science. But after pondering the thought, he realized, there was someone!

"I think I've got it!" He stated.

"Who?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Well, to be honest, I don't know if he's still alive or not. But if he is, he may be the only one who could help us crack this."

"Who is it?!" Nikki exclaimed, getting slightly anxious.

Scott took a moment before answering, "Hank Pym's old S.H.I.E.L.D. partner. Bill Foster."

"I've heard of him." Bruce nodded, "His research on Quantum Phasing is really amazing. Where is he?"

"He teaches at Berkely in California. He wasn't there though. I stopped at his office and left a note, but we'll see what happens."

"Well, let's get to work." Nikki said, with a smirk.

"Alright, but we gotta wait for somebody first." Bruce stated before looking over to the counters behind them. "Hey, can I get a few to-go boxes please?"

"Who're we waiting for?" Cassie asked.

Just then, the bell at the entrance of the diner rang as the door opened, making everyone look towards it. Who they saw walking in was a teenage girl with beautiful dark skin looking around.

As soon as he saw her, Bruce immediately waved her over. "Viv, hey! Over here!"

She saw him and began walking over to the table.

As she did, the group all took notice of her attire. Aside from her lime green one-strapped backpack, she wore a maroon colored hoodie, blue jeans that hugged her legs, and a pair of Converses. But, her most outstanding feature was her hair. From her head to her shoulders were shiny streaks of black hair, but two streaks of colored hair in front. On the left was a light purple streak, and lime green on the right.

"Hey Dad!" She said with a smile.

"Dad?" they all repeated simultaneously, shocked and dumbfounded by what they just heard.

"Hey, honey!" Bruce replied as the girl pulled up a chair and sat next to him. He reached his large arm around and hugged her to him. "Glad you made it."

The girl, still smiling, leaned into the hug and returned it.

"Who's she?" PJ asked.

"Guys, this is Viv. Viv, this is-"

"Jamie and Nikki Rogers." She said, finishing Bruce's words. She reached out and shook Jamie and Nikki's hands. "Nice to finally meet you guys."

"Nice to meet you too." "Hi." The twins replied.

They shook her hand, but were a bit dumbfounded at how this girl knew their names instantly. Maybe Bruce told her?

"And this is Scott Lang and his kids, Cassie and PJ."

Viv nodded at Scott and his kids. "Mr. Lang. Guys."

Cassie and PJ waved and nodded at this mysterious girl.

"Oh, just Scott is fine." Scott kindly corrected Viv. After that, there was a moment of silence before Scott spoke the obvious question on all of their minds.

But Cassie beat him to the punch. "I'm sorry, did she call you 'Dad'?"

Bruce chuckled at that and began to explain. "Yeah, she did. Viv is my adoptive daughter."

That shocked them, mainly Jamie and Nikki.

"How're we just hearing about this?" Nikki asked curiously, "I mean, no offense, Viv, but this is a bit of a shock."

"Oh, I can imagine." Viv replied understandably. "But to be honest, this was a surprise for me as well. I wasn't expecting to meet you all today, it was last minute. So I apologize for any inconvenience or discomfort I may have caused."

Right away, Jamie could sense a little remorse in Viv's voice. Nikki could too, as did Scott and his kids. They didn't mean for her to feel like a nuisance or want her to feel uncomfortable herself. From what they could tell, Viv was a likable person. And if Bruce trusted her and considered her his daughter, that was enough for them.

Nikki leaned forward and put a hand on her arm. "We're glad to meet you too, Viv. And if Uncle Bruce calls you his daughter, then that makes you family."

"And for us, family is everything." Jamie added.

Any nervous feelings that Viv has went away at hearing those words. Her smile returned once again as she thanked them.

Deciding to take the reigns on it, Cassie spoke up next. "I really like your hair colors."

Viv smiled at her kind comment. "Thanks. Believe it or not, they're actually real."

They continued to converse for a while before Bruce's to-go boxes came and they packed up. When they were all ready to go, they headed out, ready to get to work.

* * *

**Well, what do you think of that twist?! Bruce is here and we now have been introduced to Viv Vision as well. But they don't know she's not human...but they will. ;)**

**And Scott mentioned Bill Foster from Ant-Man And The Wasp. Now, I loved Endgame, don't get me wrong. But I just really thought that Bill could help the Avengers since he was the only person left who was an expert on Quantum Physics. Although, idk if he was Snapped away or not, I still see him as an asset. So get ready to see him!**

**Ok, next chapter will be up soon. So stick around and I'll see ya next chapter! NinjaBoy OUT!**


	28. True Story

*****Stark Cabin*****

After lunch, the day pretty much flew by.

But when nighttime rolled around, Peter found himself in deep thought, as he washed the dishes. He thought about May. He thought about Ned...and he thought about Tony. That's where his memory held still for a minute. The more he thought about the heroic billionaire, the more he missed him. He remembered the wave of shock that overtook him when he first met Tony. The glee he experienced when he was with them in Berlin...before the fighting began that is. But then, the heart-wrenching pain and sadness from watching Tony die in front of him came back as well.

It was only the faucet hose spraying him that pulled him from his thoughts. He immediately reacted by turning off the water and placing the hose back in it's spot. He noticed that he had partially drenched himself, the right side of his shirt to be more precise. Mentally slapping himself, he dried the plate in his hands before placing it in the dish rack on the counter next to the sink. As he set it down, his eyes drifted upward to a picture of Howard Stark on a small shelf that was in a corner. He gave it a good look and couldn't help but notice, again, just how much like his father Tony looked.

He hummed a tad, a half smile coming up. "Hey, Mr. Stark."

But after he said that, his eyes drifted to another picture behind the one of Tony's father. This one hit differently though.

That smile gone and a sigh let out through the nostrils, Peter hesitantly reaches up and pulled the photo down to get a better look at it. It was a picture of him and Tony with a Stark Industries Certificate that Peter had received on joing the "Stark Internship" way back in 2017.

As he looked on at the picture, tears began to well up and his heart started to hurt. And the more the hurt, the more Peter understood what Nikki meant when she said what this thing was. What this plan, this Time Heist meant. Not just to him, but to everyone on Earth. Heck, to everyone in the UNIVERSE!

Bringing his head up and staring ahead with a look of determination, he nodded to himself as he knew what had to be done.

* * *

A little later, Peter sat down and fired up his computer/holo-table in the living room, generating a holographic model for a potential time machine that could be compatible with quantum fluctuation.

"Ok uh, can we look at a mod inspiration, please? I wanna see if it checks out." He said to his AI, KAREN. He still used her and was really happy, it helped to have someone to talk to like her. "Uh...recommend one last sim before we pack it in for the night. This time, in the shape of a Mobius strip, inverted, please."

_"Processing..." _She replied.

The hologram that was projected above the table showed the Mobius strip-shaped structure being formed with multiple fluctuating panels on it. Peter nodded at it before turning it around with his hands and worked on certain parts.

"I'm gonna need a...um...why do you call it?"

_"Eigenvalue?"_

"Right! That. And that, particle factoring, and a spectral decomp. That'll take a second."

_"Just a moment."_

"And uh...ya know, don't worry if it doesn't pan out. I'm just kinda..."

But the AI cut him off with her report. _"Model rendered."_

Within a few seconds, the results for the render came up, and what he saw left him speechless. The results show the chance of the model being as 99.987% successful. Peter's eyes went wide at the sight of it. This was it. It could work! So overcome by shock and bewilderment, Peter fell backwards into his chair, completely blown away.

With so many neurons flaring in his brain, one word came to mind that helped him get out his shock."...sh**!"

"Sh**." Another voice repeated. Peter slightly flinched as he didn't expect anyone to hear him, let alone repeat him.

Turning around, he saw none other than Morgan sitting at the foot of the stairs, smiling and giggling at her "older brother".

Immediately, Peter brought a finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. "What are you doing out of bed, little miss?" He asked, not stopping the smile that automatically came.

"Sh**." She replied, repeating his previous line.

Once again, Peter tried to shush her. "No, no, no! You can't say that. I shouldn't even be saying it. Your mom's the only one that can use it. She coined it, it belongs to her."

He made that last part up, but he hoped it would be enough for Morgan not to use it again.

"Why you up?" She asked him.

"'Cause I-I got a big project I'm working on here."

"What 'ith' it?"

"Grownup sh**!" Peter exclaimed with a cocky smile, "What do you think?"

That made Morgan put on a scrunched up face that said 'What did you just say?!' It was still cute though. But it made Peter realize what he'd just said and done.

"No, I-I got something on my mind. I got something on my mind." He corrected himself.

"'Wath' it 'juith popths'?" Morgan asked with a teasing tone.

Peter saw right through her and could tell what she was getting at. And it just made him smile even more. "Uh, yeah. Sure was. Great minds think alike."

Standing up from his chair, he reached out his hand which Morgan took as she jumped down the last step of the stairs and they both walked towards the kitchen.

"By the way, are you familiar with the term 'extortion'?" Peter asked her, which she replied with another giggle.

* * *

*****Morgan's Bedroom*****

Thirty minutes later, the two were finishing was had been two juice pops each.

"All finished?" Peter asked her, a juice pop stick in the side of his mouth.

Morgan nodded with hers still on her mouth too. "Mhm."

Peter couldn't help but smile at that. She was just too cute and lovable. And she loved him too, that made him even happier to know her and be here for her.

"Me too. Here. " Reaching over, he wiped Morgan's face for any juice pop residue before taking her juice pop stick and stood up from the bed. "Alright, time to sleep."

"Nooooo!" She cried, "Tell me a 'thtory'!"

"A story?"

"'Pweathe'?"

Peter exhaled a laugh from his nostrils before sitting back down next to her bed. "How can I say 'No' to that face?"

He was really pushing it, but he couldn't say no to her even if he wanted to. Morgan smiled at that as she readied herself for the story.

"Heh, ok. Which one?"

"The one about the 'thix' 'heroeths'."

Peter froze for a minute. He knew what she meant by that. He'd told her that story a long time ago when she was a baby. But she wanted to hear it now and again.

A smile came to his face as he nodded. "Ok."

"Yay!" She clapped.

"Ready?"

She nodded. Peter let out a sigh as he began, wondering how to start.

"Ok...Um...ok. And there came one day unlike any other. When Earth's Mightiest Heroes came together against a common threat. The Soldier. The Knight. The God. The Monster. The Spy. And The Archer. On that day, the Avengers were born. And they fought to protect people from threats that they couldn't on their own.

"Did they 'thave' the world?"

Peter laughed and nodded at that. "Yep, they sure did. And it became a regular thing for them. And they all became close friends as they did. Even making new friends along the way. There was...The King...The Giant...and The Ghost, and many others!"

"Ooooohh!"

"Be it mischievous lords, alien invaders, or evil robots, the Avengers vanquished them all. Together, they were a team of unstoppable good."

Peter pauses momentarily as he saw the mesmerized expression on his "little sister's" face. She really liked it when he told her stories like this, he was always so expressive and vivid with them and she was always happy with the endings. And Peter looked it too, the storytelling was a big thing for him with Morgan. And this particular one was a personal favorite...but now, things were different now that she was older. So he decided to go a little further.

"But one day," he continued hesitantly, "...evil returned. A new evil called: Thanos."

Morgan had never heard this part of the story before.

"The Mad Titan, Thanos, wanted nothing less than dominion over the whole universe, but wanted half of it gone."

"Why?"

"Well..." Peter thought for a minute of how to explain to where she'd understand. "...Ok, you know how you don't like it when there's too much peanut butter or too much jelly on your sandwiches?"

Morgan nodded.

"Well, that's how it was for Thanos. He thought that there were too many in the universe and figured that the only way for balance was to ki-...'off' half of it."

"That's mean!"

"Yeah it is, and it's how he wanted it too. But the Avengers stood in his way."

"Yeah!"

"Yeah. They fought their best to stop the Mad Titan, and they came so close to stopping him...but unfortunately...they weren't able to..."

"Did they die?"

Peter solemnly nodded.

"Yeah...they did...but even after, the children of the Avengers lived on...and as long as they do...there's still hope."

Peter had said that last part mainly for himself. He needed hope, a lot of it. And now...he had it. He had trailed off and stopped talking. Morgan noticed this and saw that Peter had began tearing up, and that didn't sit so well with her. She didn't like to see her "big brother" sad or hurt, or anything like that. Cause then, that made her feel bad.

Moving the covers away, she got up from her bed and hugged Peter's neck, and Peter didn't hesitate to hug her back. "Ith's ok, Peter."

"Thanks, Morgan." He whispered back, more tears threatening to come forward.

After hugging it out a little more, they let up and broke their hug. Morgan smiled as she looked Peter right in the face and rubbed cheek. That made Peter smile, and he was happy that she was able to help him. Even with small gestures like that.

They shared a final smile before Morgan jumped back into bed. Peter followed suit as he tucked her in.

"Night, Morgan." He said with a smile.

"G'night, Peter." She replied.

"Love you tons."

"I love you three 'thouthsand'."

Peter was stunned by that. Morgan never ceased to surprise him, but this one took the cake. He couldn't help but smile at that as he stood up. "Three-thousand? Wow! That is a big number, I'm impressed."

Turning off the light and just about to close the door, Morgan called out to Peter once more, "Peter?"

A light sigh escaped him as he heard his name, but he still couldn't be upset or annoyed. Not in the slightest. "Yeah?"

"Is that 'thtory' true, about the heroes?" she asked.

Peter thought on that for a bit. He never told her the story was true, but she was smart enough to figure things out on her own. Still though, he didn't want to scare her. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think it's real."

That made Peter nod, a small prideful smile with it too. He was really proud of her with how she took it and how strong she was. "Well, it is. And even though some of them are gone, it's good that those heroes gave people hope. It helps a lot."

There was a momentary silence before Morgan gave an honest, heartfelt statement.

"You're my hero, Peter."

Once again, the strings of Peter's heart were strummed when she said that and a blushy-faced smile came with it to boot. He looked down to try and hide it, but failed. That's the effect Morgan had on him, she would leave him speechless and loved. And he loved that about her.

"And you're mine too, Morg." He replied, his voice voice cracking a little. They shared a brother and sister moment as they smiled at each other once again. "All right, now go to sleep or you'll turn to the Dark Side!"

Morgan giggled as she watched Peter close her bedroom door and leave her to sleep, and she did. And when she slept, she dreamt of the heroes, and Peter as a hero too.

* * *

*****Living Room*****

Pepper Potts was sitting on the couch and reading a magazine when's she hears Peter come down the stairs and joins her in the living room.

"I honestly can't get enough of her." He stated proudly as he sat on the couch with her, "She just said 'she loved me three-thousand!'"

Pepper scoffed/smiled at that statement. "Oh, did she now?"

"Yeah. But don't worry, I'm sure you're high than me."

"Oh, I doubt that, Peter."

He cackled innocently before his gaze drifted back over to the holo-table where the hologram still floated and glowed. He still couldn't he'd cracked it, yet there it was. He didn't realize he'd been staring at it for quite a while until he heard a voice.

"Peter?" Pepper called him, pulling him from his thoughts.

He came back to reality once again, blinking rapidly a few times before looking back to her. "Yeah?"

"Are you ok?" Pepper asked, the concern of a mother apparent in her voice.

Peter let out a heavy sigh before gathering his thoughts and telling Pepper. "I figured it out."

Unclear on what he meant, Pepper tried to ask, "And when you say 'it', just so I know, we're talking about -"

"Time travel." He expanded, making it more understandable for her. "I made out the model and it says it'll work."

Pepper was taken aback by that, almost speechless. "What? Wow... That's amazing, and... terrifying."

"...yeah...yeah, it is."

"You know, we got lucky to have made it this far."

Peter nodded at that. "Yeah, I know."

"A lot of people didn't."

"Also true. Wasn't able to save them."

"Doesn't seem like it's stopped you from still trying."

"For the past ten years...I've been haunted by these memories. They keep playing in my head, over and over.

"Peter, if there's one thing I know about you, it's that when you can't stop once you have a moral obligation. You tend to see it as a responsibility. It's one of the things that Tony saw in you, why he liked you so much. Because you reminded him of him."

Peter snorted lightly at that as he listened to Pepper's words, her words about Tony. And that made Peter think about the Heist even more, and how important it was...and what it could mean to Pepper if it worked.

"I miss him..."

Pepper nodded in agreement, tears forming in her eyes the more she thought of her lover. "I know...I miss him too, so..so much. But I think if her were here right now, he'd be proud of you. "

"Yeah...but with this, I...I'm torn. Part of me feels like I should just drop it at the bottom of the lake... go to bed."

Pepper, knowing better and caring for Peter, retorted kindly, "But would you be able to rest?"

She made a good point there. Peter would probably just be in bed, laying awake and staring at the ceiling for the whole night with it weighing on his mind. And that made him feel conflicted even more. "I don't know...I just don't know."

Pepper closed her book before standing up and looking down to Peter once more. "Peter, whatever it is you choose, I know you'll make the right decision."

She walked past him and kissed the top of his head before going up to her room to bed.

As Peter sat there alone, he looked back over to the holo-table and look at the model once again. As he did, the thoughts and worries of what could happen came back. And he was afraid of them, but he was even more afraid of not trying now that he was this close to it.

Best case scenario: everyone lost would be back. Worst case...well, Peter decided not to let that hold him back anymore. So, letting out a good long sigh, Peter nodded as he stood up and walked over to the table and starred at the hologram. The longer he stared, the more solid his decision had become.

Once again, he nodded as he said the following words. "Whatever it takes."

* * *

**That's it for this chapter, y'all!"**

**Peter's in and ready to start the mission! Also, he's being a great big brother to Morgan. I seriously LOVE the idea of the two in a scene together with the brother/sister bond between them, and I hope you guys enjoy how I'm presenting their relationship within this story.**

**Pepper's in here too as a bit of a mother figure to Peter now, and she misses Tony dearly. That's more motivation for Peter to do this. So expect big stuff to come from that. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and all the cuteness that came with it.**

**Like & review please! ****I like the feedback I get from you guys, so lemme have it!**

**Als****o, one last thing. I see that you guys really like this Next Avengers story, and I'm enjoying the pleasure of writing it. And it has become my decision to make my own MCU focusing on the Next Avengers' journey after this story. It spans out t****o 18 stories which includes solo stories and two more Next Avengers team up stories. And I wanna give you guys a bit of a release showcase, but I wanna see if you guys would like to see is as well. So, would you guys like to see the rest of my 'Next Avengers Initiative'? Lemme know in the comments. I really hope I can share this with yall!**

**Til next time! Laters!**


End file.
